MAA Group buys back stake in Draft

The Bangalore-based MAA Group has opted to buyback the majority equity stake in Draft Worldwide India, a Bangalore-headquartered direct marketing and direct response company, from Interpublic Group-owned Draft Inc.

The MAA Group, with this buy-back, will now hold 100 per cent of the equity in Draft Worldwide India. The name of the latter agency will change to reflect the change in the ownership. The company will now be called 'Sabre Marketing Services'.

Announcing this on Monday, Bunty Peerbhoy, chairman of the MAA Group said that in 2004, the company was vested with the management supervision of the company in India by Draft.

"But now with a booming economy and a competitive market in India, corporations are compelled to adopt specialised marketing tools. Direct marketing is poised for rapid growth and we are investing for consolidating our growth."

Commenting on the buyback, David Florence of Draft said: "We wish MAA well in the future and thank our partners for their close collaboration over the last 10 years."

The MAA Group consists of several specialized marketing services companies: Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick for public Relations, RAMMS for retail and merchandising, Sirius Communications for print and production, and MAA Bozell for advertising and integrated communications.