 Neil Mortine |
Columbus, Ohio’s Fahlgren Mortine announced today that it will merge with fellow Columbus-based advertising shop SBC Advertising.
The newly combined entity, which will have projected annual revenues of $35 million, will be known as Fahlgren Mortine SBC.
The merger comes after FM's February acquisition by private holding company Eastport Holdings LLC. Memphis, TN-based Eastport owns a portfolio of 17 media, marketing and advertising companies throughout the U.S., including SBC, which it acquired in 2012.
FM president and CEO Neil Mortine will now hold the president/CEO title of the combined entity.
“Eastport Holdings was interested in obtaining synergies and leveraging complementary capabilities in combining Fahlgren Mortine and SBC Advertising,” Mortine told O’Dwyer’s. “I am confident that we will only be stronger together, and I’m looking forward to our bright future.”
Fahlgren Mortine, which was founded in 1962, staffs approx. 200 and maintains additional outposts in Boise, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Dayton, Miami and Myrtle Beach. The full-service agency also owns New York-based travel subsidiary Turner.
SBC, which was founded in 1969, specializes in advertising, strategic planning, social media, PR, digital strategy and business analytics services for the retail, consumer, healthcare and financial sectors.
FM last year accounted for nearly $27 million in net fees, according to O’Dwyer’s rankings of PR firms, gaining 10.4 percent in 2017 from 2016’s $24.4 million.
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