• Adweek, Monday, September 17, 2007 10:30 AM

The parent company of Outback Steakhouse and Carraba's Italian restaurants has whittled the review of its $90 million media planning and buying account to three: Aegis Group's Carat, WPP's MindShare and independent Horizon Media, insiders say. Final presentations from the trio are set for this month at Outback's Florida headquarters.

Right now, the business is split between Havas' MPG and independent agency Doner. Neither MPG, which plans and buys national media, nor Doner, which handles local spot, wanted to keep the business. Select Resources International is overseeing the search, and says Outback wants to consolidate the business at one agency.

Creative duties, now at Kaplan Thaler in New York, are not affected. The company spent about $85 million on Outback and Carraba's in the U.S. last year, according to Nielsen, and also owns Bonefish Grill, Fleming's, Roy's and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

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