Newport’s Potocki & Associates Bought by London-Based Firm

Newport Beach’s Joseph Potocki & Associates Inc., one of Orange County’s largest marketing-services firms, has been bought by a London-based company in a cash and stock deal that could total $15 million over the next five years, the company said Tuesday.

The sale, completed Tuesday, makes Potocki & Associates a subsidiary of Clarke Hooper America Inc., the U.S. holding company of publicly traded Clarke Hooper PLC.

With the purchase, the agency’s billings and staff will increase by at least 35% over the next six months, according to Joseph Potocki, president and chief executive officer. There are now 23 employees in Newport Beach and five in an Edison, N.J., branch that opened this month.

Potocki & Associates is a 5-year-old firm that touts itself as the largest packaged-goods promotional agency in the West. Billings last year totaled about $5.5 million, Potocki said.

The agency has 45 clients, none of them accounting for more than 11% of the agency’s client base, he added. The roster includes VLI Corp., Beatrice/Hunt-Wesson Foods, Lawry’s Foods, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Armor All and Grace Restaurants.

Potocki said his company was acquired for a seven-figure, undisclosed payment of cash and stocks, adding that the balance will be based on profit and paid over five years.

“We had four different companies approach us. . . . We’re a pretty hot shop,” said Potocki when asked why he agreed to the sale. “We’ve had rapid growth” of at least 35% per year in billings and “good quality accounts.”

Potocki will continue as head of Potocki & Associates and become president and chief executive of Clarke Hooper America Inc.

The acquisition marks the first outpost in this country for Clarke Hooper, which has offices in London; Toronto and Edinburgh, Scotland. The company, traded on the London exchange, had $25 million in sales last year, a Potocki spokeswoman said.