• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 22, 2004

A week after big American agency holding company Interpublic got out of the sports marketing business by shedding its stake in a U.K. motor sports business, U.K.-based agency holding company Aegis has announced plans to enter the field of sports and entertainment marketing.

Aegis, the parent of the Carat and Vizeum media networks, Monday said it is acquiring Velocity Sports & Entertainment LLC, one of the top independent sponsorship and event marketing agencies in the U.S., for an initial cash payment of $9 million and up to $26 million over a three-year period.

The timing of the move is interesting, because the giant Interpublic Group - the parent of Initiative and Universal McCann - recently divested of its stake in a British car racing business, as part of a strategy to get out of the sports marketing business, whose vagaries helped contribute to Interpublic's financial instability. But Aegis is not acquiring a sports franchise, but a marketing firm that specializes in sports and entertainment events and Aegis chief Doug Flynn said the deal is part of a longer-term strategic plan to diversify the communications channels it manages.

"The acquisition of Velocity is consistent with our strategy of investing in the development of strong global networks, sponsorship has become a key communication medium and a vital part of the communications planning mix," he stated, adding, "We were very impressed with the vision of Velocity and are keen to develop this part of the business into a true international capability."

Aegis' Carat unit recently won a significant portion of Procter & Gamble's communication planning assignment, and is believed to be working on plans to help wean P&G off of its traditional dependency on conventional TV advertising.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of Velocity signals a new direction for Aegis, which has primarily been active in the media agency and market research businesses. In addition to Carat, Vizeum and outdoor and digital media holdings, Aegis owns marketing mix modeler MMA and market research database Market Facts, which are part of its Synovate operations.