Young & Rubicam Acquires KnowledgeBase Marketing

Ad giant Young & Rubicam Inc. has acquired privately held KnowledgeBase Marketing Inc. in a stock and cash deal valued at approximately $175 million.

Chapel Hill, NC-based KnowledgeBase Marketing is a provider of customer relationship marketing (CRM) services, and creates integrated information marketing solutions for companies doing consumer and business-to-business direct marketing.

KnowledgeBase Marketing develops and manages both e-commerce and marketing database programs for more than 200 clients online and off in the energy, financial services, healthcare, retail and technology industries.

“KnowledgeBase Marketing is the premier company in the fast-growing database marketing sector, a segment of our industry which will play a huge role in defining the future of marketing and communications,” said Ed Vick, chief operating officer of Young & Rubicam Inc.

“KnowledgeBase Marketing’s unique blend of data warehousing, data mining, information services, and analytic capabilities have made it a formidable force in just a few years. By combining their expertise in this emerging area with that of other Young & Rubicam Inc. companies, we believe we can set the standard for both Web-based and media-based customer relationship management solutions.”

Tim Toben, chief officer of KnowledgeBase Marketing, said the company will retain its stand-alone identity and operations. The management team will remain intact and will report to Jay Bingle, chief executive officer of Wunderman Cato Johnson.

Young & Rubicam is comprised of Young & Rubicam Advertising, Dentsu Young & Rubicam, The Bravo Group/Kang & Lee, Wunderman Cato Johnson, Brand Dialogue, The Media Edge, Burson-Marstellar, Cohn & Wolfe, Landor Associates, Sudler & Hennessey and other related companies.