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Marc Advertising acquires Indianapolis agency
Friday, May 28, 1999 By Teresa F. Lindeman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Marc USA, the holding company for Pittsburgh-based Marc Advertising, has acquired an Indianapolis agency that brings about $50 million worth of advertising accounts and 50 employees to the growing operation.
Caldwell VanRiper becomes the third agency in the last two years to join the national network being created by Marc Chairman and CEO, Tony Bucci. Total billings for the combined business are projected at $370 million with about 350 people on the payroll.
Bucci expects to announce another acquisition in New York City in the next few weeks. That should be followed by one in San Francisco in the summer, in Boston by year-end and in Seattle early next year. The company could venture into the international market by 2001.
"We're moving at a much faster pace than I had thought," said Bucci, who estimated his five-year plan is coming together twice as quickly as he'd expected.
His goal is to link advertising talent in the major U.S. business centers, filling in as opportunities allow. Each of the acquired agencies operates independently, although work can be shared if that makes sense.
In January 1998, Marc hooked up with a Dallas agency. Last fall it added one in Chicago, another city on the strategic plan. Marc already had a Miami presence.
In the search for acquisitions, Bucci didn't put Indianapolis at the top of his list. But he said Caldwell VanRiper represented a good opportunity.
The two agencies already shared a client -- Bryant Heating and Cooling -- and the principals knew each other. "This acquisition came about through a long-term business relationship with Tony Bucci," said Paula R. MacVittie, president and CEO of Caldwell VanRiper, in a prepared statement.
Caldwell VanRiper was founded in 1909. MacVittie acquired a majority interest in the company in 1987.
Marc already has a sales promotion office in Indianapolis, but Bucci said the work there does not overlap with that at Caldwell VanRiper. He said there won't be any layoffs as a result of the deal.
In fact, one of the key issues in any acquisition is the strength of the agency's management and its willingness to stick around. "I'm not selling retirement plans," said Bucci.
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