Carlson Marketing acquired by Nectar's Canadian owner

By Claire Billings, campaignlive.co.uk, Tuesday, 03 November 2009 04:40PM

LONDON - Carlson Marketing has been bought by Groupe Aeroplan, the Canadian owner of the Nectar loyalty programme in the UK, in an all-cash deal for $107 million.

Harman... Carlson EMEA chief

The acquisition, from the hotel owner Carlson Companies, includes all Carlson Marketing’s agencies across 17 countries including the US, where it has its strongest presence with 11 offices including Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and New York.

In Europe, Middle East and Africa, it is headed by Jonathan Harman and has ten offices including London, Madrid, Dubai and Barcelona. Clients include Coca-Cola, Arla Foods and Hyundai. It also has offices in Asia and Latin America.

Groupe Aeroplan acquired Loyalty Management UK, the company behind Nectar, in 2007. After the acquisition, which is expcected to go through in December, Carlson Marketing will continue to work independently from Group Aeroplan and be led by its existing president and chief executive, Jeff Balagna.

"We look forward to joining forces with Groupe Aeroplan and significantly strengthening the scope of our loyalty marketing, program management, and engagement and event offering for customers, employees and distribution channels," Balagna said.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk