Ipg's Weber Group In Talks To Purchase Shandwick

Negotiations are under way between Weber Public Relations Worldwide and London-based Shandwick International which could result in an acquisition by early summer, sources said.
A buyout of Shandwick, which owns Chicago-based Golin/Harris Communications, by IPG’s Weber would rocket Cambridge, Mass.-based Weber to a dominant position in public relations. It would also help fulfill founder Larry Weber’s ambition to lead one of the biggest pr organization and diversify the agency’s predominantly technology-oriented client base.
Should the deal go through, Weber’s pr entities would employ more than 2,200 staffers and have combined net fees of nearly $266 million.