TIMELINE

June 1, 2006

THE INTERPUBLIC GROUP, affirming the importance of direct marketing, announced it will combine its Draft and FCB units to create the Draft FCB Group. Howard Draft, the DM agency's head, was named chairman/CEO of the new entity. Steve Blamer, former CEO of general ad shop FCB, will leave Interpublic after a transitional period. Interpublic acknowledged that some client conflicts may result, but said that management will stress the merger's benefits. According to Draft, the combined firm will have “a unified management team and a single P&L” and 9,000-plus employees in some 110 countries. FCB offers branding, creative, digital and media planning services. Draft is known for its work in CRM and data-driven marketing.

May 24

INFOUSA said it would acquire Mokrynskidirect, a 28-year-old list management/brokerage company. The Mokrynskidirect brand will remain intact, and founder Don Mokrynski will stay on as a consultant. Dennis Bissig will remain as president, reporting to Ed Mallin, president of InfoUSA's Donnelley Marketing unit. The purchase is part of a plan to “consolidate the fragmented list brokerage and management industry,” said InfoUSA CEO Vin Gupta. While terms of the cash transaction were not disclosed, InfoUSA acquired Millard Group last year for $12.4 million. At the time, Millard had annual revenue of about $14 million to $15 million. Mokrynskidirect generates yearly revenue in the $10 million to $11 million range, according to Gupta. Added Mallin: “Mokrynski's strength always has been in the consumer catalog industry. With Millard, these are the two blue-chip brands in the space.” InfoUSA also owns list firms Walter Karl and Edith Roman. In a separate development, InfoUSA's management won a proxy fight with Dolphin Limited Partnership L.P. A shareholder vote returned three individuals — Gupta, George Haddix and Vasant Raval — to the firm's board of directors. They will serve on the board until the next scheduled election in 2009.