Mr John Farrell is nominated to join the Supervisory Board of LBi International N.V. as of the effective date of the merger of LBI International AB and Obtineo Netherlands Holding N.V., to be renamed LBi International N.V. The cross-border merger was announced in February 2010 and approved by the LBi shareholders in April 2010. The merger is expected to be completed in July 2010.
John Farrell, a UK citizen, has over 20 years of business and change leadership experience at CEO level in marketing and communications agencies around the world. His most recent role was President and CEO of the Specialised Agencies and Marketing Services Worldwide division of Publicis Groupe and a member of the Publicis Groupe Worldwide Executive Team. Prior to this John was the Global Chief Executive of D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles one of the world's top 10 advertising and communication networks. He currently holds corporate board positions at Huntsworth Plc, Media Equals Ltd, Albermarle & Bond Holdings Plc and Albion Brand Communication Ltd., as well as several other senior consultancy roles.
Fred Mulder, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LBi, commented: “We are very pleased to have John joining us as a Supervisory Board member. In the marketing and media industry John is widely respected; his wealth of experience will be of great value to LBi, as we are meeting growing demand of global blue chip companies looking for one agency providing services across geographies. We are looking forward to work with him as we continue to develop LBi as the global leader in digital marketing and technology services and as we continue to capitalise on the structural shift in spend from offline to online channels.”
LBi International N.V. is anticipated to obtain a new single listing on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam in July of this year in conjunction with the completion of the merger process.
As of the effective date of the merger, the Supervisory Board of LBi International N.V. will further consist of Mr Fred Mulder (Chairman,), Mr George William Fink, Mr Joost Tjaden and Mrs Nazo Moosa.
For further information please contact:
Fred Mulder, Chairman of the Board, LBI International AB
+3120 460 4500, fred.mulder@lbi.com
Eva Ottosson, Group Communications Manager, LBI International AB
+46 709 41 21 40, eva.ottosson@lbi.com
About LBi:
LBi is a global digital marketing and technology agency, blending insight, creativity and expertise to solve business problems. The largest genuinely full service agency of its kind in Europe, LBi provides the full range of digital capabilities, including digital strategy, branded content, service design, media, CRM, technology, managed hosting and support services. The Company employs over 1,400 professionals located primarily in the major European ,American and Asian business centres, such as Amsterdam, Atlanta, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Milan, Mumbai, New York, Paris and Stockholm. LBi is currently listed on NASDAQ OMX in Stockholm and NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam (symbol: LBI). www.lbi.com
LBi to merge with Obtineo
On 25 February 2010 LBi announced the merger with Obtineo to create Europe’s largest marketing and technology agency with a total staff to approximately 1,600 professionals across 15 countries. Obtineo is a combination of Bigmouthmedia, the largest search engine marketing specialist in Europe and EUR 40 million of new capital, underwritten by Janivo, Cyrte and The Carlyle Group, committed towards global expansion of the combined entity. The merger is expected to be completed in July. The merged entity, which will trade under the name LBi, will be a Dutch N.V. with a single listing at NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.