BBDO Interactive Buys into Goldfish

BBDO Interactive this week purchased a 49 percent stake in Israeli Internet and multimedia firm Goldfish and plans to add the company to its network on interactive ad agencies.

BBDO will spend $3.43 million on the holding, with the option to purchase an additional 21 percent. After the deal is final, the company will operate under the name Goldfish Interactive.

BBDO said it chose Goldfish from a group of Israeli companies being considered, crediting its prominence in the local market, its client portfolio and its Net experience as factors which pushed the firm to the top of the list. The Israeli company counts Bezek International, Compaq Computer Corp., and Motorola Inc. as some of the big names in its client roster.

Goldfish Interactive will build Internet sites, create business presentations and marketing strategies, and offer various creative, account and consulting services. BBDO says that the new company will be the first to offer a wide range of Net services, and thus have an edge in targeting the estimated 70 percent of Israeli businesses with Web sites.

Following the acquisition, Goldfish’s staff will more than triple in size, with 60 employees to be added in the near future.

BBDO Interactive is a subsidiary of global ad agency BBDO.