WASHINGTON, DC--Glover Park Group, one of the fastest-growing public affairs firms of recent times, has been acquired by WPP Group.

WPP confirmed the acquisition this morning. Glover Park was recently named Outstanding Public Affairs Consultancy at the Holmes Report's Global SABRE Awards, capping a decade of impressive growth.

The firm was launched in 2001 by veterans of the Clinton White House and Gore presidential campaign, and flourished during the Bush administration despite its powerful Democratic credentials. It has since reached around $60m in fee income.

The four founding partners are Carter Eskew, a veteran of BSMG Worldwide and chief strategist for the Gore 2000 presidential campaign; former Clinton White House press spokesman Joe Lockhart, who has since departed for a global comms role at Facebook; chief executive Chip Smith, who was the deputy campaign manager and the chief of staff for the Gore campaign; and Michael Feldman, a senior advisor to Vice President Gore.

Now employing more than 140 people, Glover Park is headquartered in Washington, DC and also has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Boulder, CO. 

According to the Holmes Report's Agency Report Card, "Glover Park has succeeded in part by being more than just another public affairs firm: its capabilities include advocacy and image advertising, crisis and issues management, legislative affairs, and (critically) research."

The purchase comes after WPP bought digital campaigning firm Blue State Digital at the start of this year. The holding group now owns numerous DC firms, including Penn Schoen Berland, Dewey Square Group, Public Strategies Inc. and Quinn-Gillespie & Associates.