The Minneapolis public relations agency Padilla Speer Beardsley, a 52-year-old Twin Cities institution, is acquiring Virginia-based CRT/tanaka in a deal that will make the two agencies one of the top 10 independent PR firms in the United States.
The move substantially strengthens Padilla's presence in the important New York market and gives it first-time offices in Washington and Los Angeles.
The combined firm, which will retain headquarters in the larger Minneapolis office, will be called PadillaCRT.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The deal, which was announced Monday, is expected to be finalized late next month.
Padilla's Lynn Casey will retain the title of chairman and CEO of the merged firm. CRT's Mark Raper will be its president.
"This relationship has been long in the making," Casey said in an interview. "We know each other very well. We've done joint presentations [to clients] and have worked together."
Casey said the acquisition/merger possibility emerged earlier this year as she was looking for partners to bulk up Padilla's New York presence where the agency had a staff of eight handling such clients as Coppertone and I D A Ireland, an Irish company that explores business opportunities with U.S. firms.
"I queried several firms and nothing felt right and then I got a call from CRT asking about our [employee] ownership structure. They wanted an ESOP like we had. We started talking and it didn't take long to realize we should consolidate our [former] loose collaboration."