Acquisitive Focus/FGW owner looks beyond advertising - Boston Business Journal:

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The Cincinnati advertising executive has used four acquisitiona since 2005 to growhis data-drivenb ad agency, . Now he is exploring acquisitions outside hischosejn industry. Sharp said he was approached by a formerf client who wants to be general manager and limited partnerf ina Mazda/Volkswagen dealership in Tuscaloosa, Ala. So, he’ s making an offer for the dealership this week and promisewsit won’t be the last purchase he pursueds this year. He’s also lookinh at two deals involving HVAC companiesin “It’s a great opportunity in America. Every­thing’sa on sale,” he said. “Stock, properties, commodities.
Most aggressive businessmej are looking beyond theirtraditional boundaries.” Not every deal has pannedd out as planned for but he’s never been timid about pulling the trigger. With two acquisition in 2005 and one each in 2007and 2008, Sharpp pulled together agencies with expertis e in data mining, direct marketing, traditional advertising and brand The Sharonville-based agency has landed six new-business awardas since January worth a combined $5 million in Sharp said. The agency has hired 17 employees sincea five-employed staff reduction on Feb. 9, boostinb total employment to 134.
Amongg those assigning new businessto Focus/FGW in the last few monthes are , , of Sandusky Ohio, and ’s NextRx a national mail-order pharmacyg company based in Mason. Another health care client, in Seattle, expanded its relationship with hiring the agency to help roll out aMedicare “They’ve continued to blow my sockx off with the work that they do. They make complex information very understandable for thosewho aren’t data said Sharon Thomson, director of advertising and marketing communicationz for the 9,000-employee physician group.
Thomsonh hired Focus/FGW for a direct-marketingf assignment last year but expanded that assignment to includer Medicare workin 2009. She wouldn’t say how much is speng with Focus/FGW. As the economy weakened, Sharlp increasingly relied onorganic growth, whiled scaling back revenue goals for the company. When he acquiredf the Deskey agency in February Sharp said he was shootingfor $125 millionj in total sales and wantecd to surpass WB Donor in Detroit as the nation’s largestr independent agency. A year he sold Deskey back to its former owner s and predicted 2009 revenue would fall tothe “highg 20’s,” down from $40 million in 2008.
New business should boosyt revenue to morethan $30 million this and Sharp is exploring an acquisition of a smallo Boston agency that specializes in health care accounts. In the he said business brokers are contacting him at leasy once a week with potential deals in a variethyof industries. In the Tuscaloosz deal, he sees potential because Mercede s operates an assembly plant there and Volkswageh is building another plant three hours awayin Tenn.
“It’s the only VW and Mazdaq dealership within 90 miles ofthe city,” said “There are 23 German supplier companies to Mercedesx and VW already operating in Alabama, and we’re goingf to own the only German-car franchise in the owner Verta Barr said she expects but has not yet receivedx a letter of intent from whom she described as an “entrepreneur from back She said the deal has “a lotta ifs right and declined further comment. This will be the seconx time Sharp has been involvecd in anauto dealership. He was part-ownedr of the former Yates-Wyler Dodge dealership in Milford in theearlu 1990s.
A business broker who specializesw in automotive transactions said southeastern states have a lot of dealerships for sale but few buyerws because offinancing woes. “The average dealership needxs $4 million to $5 millioj in inventory, so you need that type of crediy line to make thedealership work,” said Chad Gutschow, a broked for in Omaha, Neb. “Most brokers I talk to have not closes on a car dealershi p in overa year.” Sharp is counting on threr commercial credit lines from , and banks to handler financing. Kim Sharp, owner of the Focus/FGW advertising agency, assembled that company from several acquisitions.
Now, Sharp is branchinbg out and plans to make an offere ona Mazda/Volkswagen dealership in Alabama. In he is exploring deals with twoHVAC