Just Marketing International (JMI), the motorsport sponsorship agency which has established itself as one of the leaders in the field over the last decade, has been sold to Chime Communications.
The deal, which will see JMI integrated into Chime's sports marketing division, CSM Sport & Entertainment, was confirmed early on Friday.
It marks a first entrance into motorsport and the United States for CSM Sport & Entertainment, which has been headed by London 2012 frontman Lord Sebastian Coe as executive director since October last year.
After being founded in 1995 by Zak Brown, JMI has gone on to represent clients in both Formula One and Nascar. It brokered the current deals between UPS and Ferrari, Unilever and Lotus and GlaxoSmithKline's wide-ranging agreement with McLaren. The agency also brokered financial services giant UBS' giant deal with Formula One in 2010.
In the United States, Nascar sponsor Subway was one of the agency's breakthrough clients in 2002. JMI also brought the likes of Farmers Insurance and Diageo brand Crown Royal into the sport. The latter deal, brokered in 2004, was particularly notable as the first Nascar sponsorship following the relaxation of the series' 58-year ban on spirits company sponsors.
The JMI statement on Friday said the agency would become a 'wholly-owned subsiduary' of Chime. In April this year, JMI majority shareholder Spire Capital, which held 60 per cent, announced it had decided to sell its stake.
Brown retained a 20 per cent stake at the time, with advertising giant WPP holding the remaining 20 per cent after a 'strategic investment' in July 2011.
No financial details of Chime's aquisition were confirmed in the official announcement but Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman reported that 'London-listed Chime is understood to be paying in the region of UK£50 million for JMI in a deal that will involve placing roughly UK£25 million of new shares with leading City investors'. A JMI source subsequently confirmed the sale price as US$76 million.
In the new structure, Brown will remain chief executive of JMI and take up a new role as global head of business development for CSM Sport & Entertainment.
“This is the most exciting moment in JMI's history,” said London-based Brown, who oversees a 130 person team in the USA, UK and Hong Kong.
“I was attracted to Chime from the outset of discussions on a potential acquisition. My initial introduction was to the recently-appointed chairman of Chime PLC, Lord Davies, the senior independent director of Diageo and former minister for trade in the UK government.
“After then meeting Lord Coe and the leadership of CSM, it was clear to me that the strategic, economic and cultural fit is extremely strong and that CSM is going places. We had many suitors but selecting Chime was a natural choice for JMI's future.”
Brown added: “Nothing about this acquisition changes the JMI you know today. We are committed to our vision of being the world's best motorsports marketing agency. What you will see from the JMI of tomorrow is the broader sport offering of CSM and all its benefits become more visible.”
Lord Coe added: “This is the most sizeable acquisition CSM Sport & Entertainment has made to date and signals our strategic entry into the exciting world of motorsports and the important US market. This is a deal that makes sense for CSM Sport & Entertainment on multiple levels.
“It will bring value to shareholders, clients and employees alike, as motorsports and the US are two untapped areas for CSM Sport & Entertainment and to be truly global we have to be in them. On top of that, Zak's record and leadership in driving major sponsorship deals will be a significant boost for our overall business.”