• by Joe Mandese , February 5, 2008

Sydney-based marketing service holding company Photon Group this morning said it acquired fast-growing communications planning agency Naked Communications for $33 million plus deferred payments. Naked, which launched in London in 2000, and became operational in the U.S. in 2006, employs about 200 people and also has offices in Japan, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Australia. Naked, which calls itself a "media neutral communications planning consultancy," positions itself as bridging the "gap between media buyers and creative agencies. Naked New York was named Media magazine's Media Boutique of the Year for 2007.

The deal puts a focus on Photon, which has quietly amassed a considerable portfolio of agencies and marketing services shops, and which is believed to have beaten out both WPP Group and Publicis Groupe, which had been in talks to acquire Naked. The deal also signals an aggressive start to 2008, following a year in which Photon made 16 company acquisitions, and now gives it a presence in 17 major international markets.

"Naked is unquestionably the world's leading communications strategy consultancy, bringing a whole new perspective to the industry which has underpinned their remarkable growth across a number of different countries and markets," Photon Executive Chairman Tim Hughes said in the announcement. "The management and staff of Naked are entrepreneurial, fiercely independent and challenge conventional thinking making them a natural fit for Photon. We have a common philosophy that marketing services and communications advice should be media neutral, unbiased, free thinking and relevant. With this deal Photon, expands its global presence into key markets where we believe we can develop further opportunities across the group."