Diana Marszalek 09 Aug 2018 // 6:00AM GMT
KANSAS CITY, MO — The travel and marketing firm MMGY Global is continuing its spate of acquisitions, this time inking deals for two boutique London firms — Grifco and Ophir.
The agencies, both of which were founded by London PR vet Claire Griffin, specialize in international luxury travel and lifestyle PR. Griffin will continue overseeing the businesses.
Although they will keep variations of their names, Grifco and Ophir will formally become part of MMGY Global’s London operation, according to CEO Clayton Reid.
The deal expands MMGY’s European presence, which started in March when it bought the PR agency Hills Balfour, its first purchase outside the US. Bringing that firm into the fold gave MMGY a roughly 90-person staff in London and a 10-person team in Dubai.
“Our ongoing strategy is to grow our global footprint and ability to service existing and prospective clients worldwide,” Reid said in announcing the deal. “The addition of Grifco and Ophir PR brings MMGY Global’s total number of employees to more than 400 and overseas offices to six, including three offices in London plus offices in Dubai, Madrid and Taipei.”
The Grifco and Ophir purchase is the fifth deal by MMGY Global since private equity firm Peninsula Capital Partners and Fine Equity Partners made a significant equity investment into MMGY Global in February 2016. Over the past two years MMGY Global has acquired DK Shifflet & Associates, Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations, Myriad Marketing and Spring O’Brien.