Bids and Deals: December 2010

WPP Group’s public relations network Hill & Knowlton is acquiring a majority stake in Turkish public relations consultancy Global Tanitim Halkla Iliskiler Arastirma ve Ozel Egitim ve Danismanlik Hizmetleri, so spare a thought for the switchboard operators…WPP Group has also acquired a majority stake in the West and Cental African research business Research and Marketing Services and WPP Digital has acquired the US business of Blue State Digital and its UK subsidiary…Marketing Direct, a St Louis based provider of integrated marketing services to the healthcare industry, is being acquired by the Wunderman subsidiary of WPP Group for an undisclosed amount…Publicis Groupe has acquired the French healthcare strategy consultancy Healthcare Consulting as well as the German healthcare digital agency Digital District for an undisclosed amount, and has increased its shareholding in the Brazilian public relations consultancy Andreoli MS&L to give it a majority stake…Canada-based MDC Partners has acquired a  majority stake in 72andSunny, a multidisciplined agency with offices in Los Angeles and Amsterdam…WPP Group’ s Grey network has acquired a majority stake in the small Singapore based digital agency Yolk that earned revenues of about £0.6 million last year…The Engine Group has acquired the 30-employee New York youth marketing agency Noise for an undisclosed amount…Havas has acquired a controlling stake in the Hong Kong based financial public relations agency Porda with the aim of further expanding its presence in Greater China…Aegis Group‘s market research business Synovate has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the leading independent Russian research agency Comcon for an undisclosed amount and will combine it with the group’s existing Russian research business…Publicis Groupe has acquired control of three companies with which it had existing links in Romania, namely Publicis Romania, Focus Advertising and Publicis Events, and merged them under the name of Grupul Publicis Communications Services Bucharest…