Clarant Worldwide Corp., New York, filed an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, and also made public its intention to simultaneously buy eight online-oriented marketing communications firms. Terms of the purchases were not disclosed.
According to the published reports, the moves are an effort by the company to position itself as a leading Internet communications and electronic commerce services firm serving Fortune 1000 companies.
The marketing firms are Align Solutions Corp., a technology company; Brand Dialogue New York, a Young & Rubicam-owned interactive services consulting firm; Free Range Media Inc., a developer of online business solutions; Consulting Inc. (known as I.Con Interactive), an interactive marketing and online solutions provider; InterActive8 Inc., an interactive consulting agency; Multimedia Resources LLC, an interactive consulting and marketing agency; Potomac Partners Management Consulting LLC, an interactive strategy firm; and RSI Group Inc., an information technology and communications consulting firm.
Michael H. Jordan, former chairman/CEO of CBS Corp., is expected to be appointed company chairman.
The managing underwriters for the offering are Deutsche Banc Alex.Brown, Baltimore; Hambrecht & Quist, San Francisco; and SoundView Technology Group, Stamford, CT.
