WPP Buys PE-Backed Commarco

Advertising giant WPP will buy German marketing firm Commarco from private equity firm Cognetas, Reuters reported. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Cognetas has been trying to sell three German firms to draw to a close a 1 billion euro fund it raised in 2001, Reuters reported. Rothschild advised it on the sale of Commarco.

(Reuters) – Advertising agency group WPP has agreed to buy German marketing firm Commarco from private equity firm Cognetas for an undisclosed sum, the parties said on Tuesday.

WPP, the world’s largest ad agency, is focusing on fast-growing economies. Germany is its third-largest market after the United States and Britain, and WPP said it was showing signs of strength, along with Poland and Russia.

Commarco almost doubled its sales in 2010 to 133 million euros ($190 million) in 2010. Its German blue-chip clients include Siemens , Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank .

Cognetas has been trying to sell three German firms to draw to a close a 1 billion euro fund it raised in 2001. It has also hired Jefferies to sell auto parts maker KSM Castings and Macquarie to sell pond equipment firm Oase.

Rothschild [ROT.UL] advised it on the sale of Commarco.

($1=.7005 Euro)

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)