Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Post-M&A, Communispace plans Boston hires

By Galen Moore

The sale of Communispace to Omnicom announced Monday was worth “slightly more than” $100 million, sources close to the deal confirmed. The $100 million figure was first reported in Stuart Smith’s MarketingWeek blog.

That’s no grand slam, but it’s a happy multiple of six on the $17 million investors Dominion Ventures, Women’s Growth Capital and a handful of angels put into the Watertown provider of online customer focus groups. Communispace was profitable in 2003 and took its last outside capital in 2004.

CEO Diane Hessan declined to comment on the terms of the deal but said the company plans to continue hiring and growing in Boston – to which end it will occupy 80,000 square feet in a new building this summer on Russia Wharf in downtown Boston. That lease was announced in November. Communispace has about 320 employees now and currently has about 20 open positions. Hessan has previously said in public appearances that sales have grown 30 percent to 35 percent in each of the past two years, and got close to $50 million in 2010.

“Our clients want us to be global faster,” Hessan said in an interview today. “It’s really hard to do that alone.” Existing clients are eager to apply Commmunispace’s brand of online customer engagement to overseas markets, Hessan said. Clients include large brands ranging from Coca Cola to Pepsi, and Bank of America to Liberty Mutual. “If anything, we’ll be hiring more people faster.”

Hessan said she plans to stick around long-term and is not fearful of losing the company’s independence under Omnicom. The merger was a “management decision,” driven by the need to grow internationally, she said. “One of the reasons we’re excited about Omnicom is they’re known for letting their companies be independent and chart their own destiny,” she said. “They’re a great firm but we’re really proud of our company and our culture.”