Millward Brown, one of the largest companies in brand, media and communications research worldwide signed an agreement to fully acquire its Romanian partner Daedalus Consulting and its subsidiaries from its Romanian founders, in order to increase presence in Romania, the company announced.

“With this acquisition, Millward Brown will have increased access to long-term growth opportunities in Romania and will have a direct presence in all major Central/Eastern European markets, including Russia, Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic,” Millward Brown said in a statement.

Daedalus Consulting was founded in 1996 by two Romanian entrepreneurs, Daniel Enescu and Dragos Enescu, and grew to be one of the largest market research companies in Romania.

The company has been part of the Millward Brown network for nine years and employs approximately 110 people, providing brand and communications research for both multinational and local brands.

Founder Daniel Enescu will hold the position of Chairman of the Board for Millward Brown Romania, responsible for managing and further developing other market opportunities, while Daniela Lazar will retain her leadership role of the business, as managing director.

The value of the transaction was not made public. In 2012, Daedalus Consulting SRL had sales of EUR 3.6 million and a net profit of EUR 0.34 million. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Visionwise Consulting SRL, had EUR 0.32 million in sales and EUR 0.1 million profit, according to data from the Finance Ministry.

Millward Brown is owned by the WPP group, which also owns other companies in Romania, including Ogilvy, Kantar Media and Grey Romania.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com