Unit of Top Ad Company Is Buying PR Firm Baker/Winokur/Ryder

A unit of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, one of the world’s largest advertising firms, said Monday it is acquiring Hollywood PR firm Baker/Winokur/Ryder, making it an instant player in the entertainment business.

The price wasn’t disclosed. Industry sources estimated that Ogilvy paid about $12 million, or about 1.5 times Baker/Winokur/Ryder’s annual billings of $8 million.

Bob Seltzer, chief executive of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, said it was an all-cash transaction.

The deal is the latest to unite Hollywood and Madison Avenue. In February, McCann-Erickson Worldwide acquired the entertainment publicity firm PMK. McCann also owns Rogers & Cowan.

“They all want to get into entertainment,” said Larry Dobrow, an editor at the trade publication PR Week. But the PR giants have had a tough time breaking into show business, which is dominated by a handful of boutique shops.

Monday’s transaction gives Ogilvy PR access to Baker/Winokur/Ryder’s celebrity roster, which includes such stars as Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock and Courtney Cox Arquette. Baker/Winokur/Ryder, meanwhile, gets use of Ogilvy PR’s global network to better serve its corporate clients abroad.

As an example of how the two firms might work together, Seltzer said celebrities might act as spokespeople on issues, such as health care, where Ogilvy has corporate clients.

Baker/Winokur/Ryder will become a unit of Ogilvy PR, with Larry Winokur and Paul Baker serving as co-CEOs and Nanci Ryder as president. The deal has been rumored within the PR business for several weeks; Seltzer said it had been under discussion for six to eight months.