Chime Communications proposes £43.7m acquisition of specialist motorsports marketing agency JMI
Chime Communications has proposed the acquisition of motorsports marketing specialist JMI, in a deal that could be worth around £43.7m.
The communications and sports marketing group has placed 8,533,334 ordinary shares on the stock market in order to raise around £25.6m.
Should the deal progress, JMI, which mainly operates around Formula 1, NASCAR (the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and IndyCar and provides services such as sponsorship management and activation strategies such as large-scale hospitality events, rights sales, and digital and experiential marketing initiatives, will become part of Chime USA.
Zakary C. Brown, founder and CEO of JMI, has relocated to London and, following the completion of the deal, will sit on the boards of both JMI and new subsidiary CSM Motorsport Limited, where he will be both president and CEO.
Brown commented: "As part of Chime we can sell other products to our existing clients and I look forward to working with Lord Coe and the entire Chime team across all areas of the sports marketing business."
Christopher Satterthwaite, CEO of Chime, explained the the acquisition would be an important of the company's international development.
"This acquisition will give us a strong foothold in the United States, one of the largest sports marketing markets in the world, and will accelerate Chime's strategy of becoming a global leader in sports marketing," he added
Chime's sports and entertainment division opened in 2007 and is reported to have made a profit of £15.8m in 2012.