Weber Eyes London PR Giant

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