French|West|Vaughan is acquiring a 50 percent stake in New York-based fashion, beauty and lifestyle shop AMP3. The two agencies will operate together as AMP3 PR in the New York market.
AMP3 PR co-founders Dion and Alyson Roy will continue to direct the operation of the firm. FWV executive vice president and principal Natalie Best will work to integrate AMP3 into the FWV portfolio of agencies, which includes FWV Fetching; RGAA, its Hispanic market offering; and Prix Productions, the company’s long-form feature and documentary film division.
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Rick French (l) and Alyson and Dion RoyFWV’s New York staff will combine with AMP3 PR and its staff in new offices at 210 W. 29th Street.
“Our investment in AMP3 is a new way for FWV to approach the NYC market,” French told O'Dwyer's. “We are a large midsize agency with multiple practice areas, whereas Dion and Alyson have built a strong reputation in high-end lifestyle marketing and fashion, which really takes us back to our own roots in New York when our office there was primarily focused on the same categories.”
The Stevens Group's Art Stevens and Rich Jachetti brought the parties together and assisted in the negotiations.
FWV reported net fees of $25.2M in 2017 and AMP3 had $500K, according to O'Dwyer's annual ranking.
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