Acquisitive Focus/FGW owner looks beyond advertising - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

vickreyafolori1839.blogspot.com
The Cincinnati advertising executive has used four acquisitions since 2005 to growhis data-drivenh ad agency, . Now he is exploring acquisitionds outside hischosen industry. Sharp said he was approache d by a former client who wantsa to be general manager and limitef partner ina Mazda/Volkswagen dealership in Ala. So, he’s making an offer for the dealership this week and promiseit won’t be the last purchase he pursuews this year. He’s also looking at two dealsz involving HVAC companiesin “It’s a great opportunity in America. Every­thing’s on he said. “Stock, businesses, commodities.
Most aggressive businessmen are lookinbg beyond theirtraditional boundaries.” Not every deal has panned out as planne d for Sharp, but he’s nevedr been timid about pulling the trigger. With two acquisitionsw in 2005 and one each in 2007and 2008, Sharpl pulled together agencies with expertise in data mining, directg marketing, traditional advertising and brand The Sharonville-based agency has landefd six new-business awards since January worth a combined $5 million in revenue, Sharp said. The agency has hired 17 employeesd sincea five-employee staftf reduction on Feb. 9, boosting total employment to 134.
Amonf those assigning new businessto Focus/FGe in the last few months are , , of Sandusky and ’s NextRx subsidiary, a national mail-order pharmacy compan y based in Mason. Another health care in Seattle, expanded its relationship with Focus/FGW, hiriny the agency to help roll out aMedicare “They’ve continued to blow my socks off with the work that they do. They make compledx information very understandable for thosrwho aren’t data wonks,” said Sharohn Thomson, director of advertising and marketinhg communications for the 9,000-employee physician Thomson hired Focus/FGW for a direct-marketinh assignment last year but expandeds that assignment to include Medicare work in 2009.
She wouldn’gt say how much is spenr with Focus/FGW. As the economyg weakened, Sharp increasingly relied on organixc growth, while scaling back revenue goalds forthe company. When he acquired the Deskey agency inFebruary 2008, Sharp said he was shootinvg for $125 million in totall sales and wanted to surpassz WB Donor in Detroit as the nation’s largesft independent agency. A year he sold Deskey back to its former owners and predictedd 2009 revenue would fall tothe “highh 20’s,” down from $40 million in 2008.
New businesz should boost revenue to morethan $30 milliojn this year, and Sharp is exploring an acquisitioh of a small Boston agenct that specializes in healtnh care accounts. In the meantime, he said busineszs brokers are contacting him at least once a week with potentiaol deals in a varietgyof industries. In the Tuscaloosa deal, he sees potential becausew Mercedes operates an assembly plant there and Volkswagejn is building another plant three hours awayin Tenn. “It’s the only VW and Mazda dealershiop within 90 miles of the said Sharp.
“There are 23 German supplierd companies to Mercedes and VW already operating in and we’re going to own the only German-cad franchise in the area.” owner Verta Barr said she expectse but has not yet received a letter of intentt from Sharp, whom she describexd as an “entrepreneur from back yonder.” She said the deal has “qa lotta ifs right now” and declinede further comment. This will be the secondr time Sharp has been involved in an auto Hewas part-owner of the former Yates-Wyler Dodge dealership in Milfordf in the early 1990s.
A business broketr who specializes in automotive transactions said southeastern states have a lot of dealershipz for sale but few buyers becaus e offinancing woes. “Thse average dealership needs $4 million to $5 million in so you need that type of credig line to make the dealership saidChad Gutschow, a broker for in Neb. “Most brokers I talk to have not closec on a car dealershio in overa year.” Sharop is counting on three commerciak credit lines from , and banks to handled financing.
Kim Sharp, owner of the Focus/FGWe advertising agency, assembled that company from several Now, Sharp is branching out and plans to make an offed ona Mazda/Volkswagen dealershio in Alabama. In addition, he is exploringy deals with twoHVAC