R&R is planning a Vegas merger

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 10, 2004 | by Deseret Morning News

Las Vegas-based advertising and public relations firm R&R Partners has signed a letter of intent to merge with Nevada-based political consultant Pete Ernaut and Brown & Partners, another Las Vegas-based PR firm.

R&R Partners also has operations in Salt Lake City.

After the merger is finalized, the combined entity will have 242 employees with $226 million in capitalized billings as of Jan. 1, 2005, according to a joint statement released Thursday.

"We've been searching for the right opportunity to expand for some time, and this merger is ideal for us," Brian Rasmussen, managing director of R&R's Salt Lake office, said in the statement. "R&R is one of the largest full-service agencies in the West, and the merger fits well with our current client base, particularly in the Salt Lake office.

"This will give us a competitive advantage to pursue clients that were outside of our reach before."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

However, according to the statement, Mark Brown, president of Brown & Partners, will become president of R&R Partners. Ernaut will become president of R&R Partners' public affairs division.

Brown & Partners will continue to operate as a stand-alone company, and operations will continue unchanged. Ernaut will be based in R&R Partners' Nevada office.