And after years of sticking with traditionalists in their front offices, big-market clubs are increasingly acquiring brand-name GMs to assemble their star-studded rosters.
In 2005, it bought Allied Domecq, based in Bristol, England, acquiring brands like Ballantine's Scotch, Beefeater Gin and Kahlúa liqueur.
That could mean acquiring brands in the near future and returning some cash to shareholders, a spokeswoman said last week.
Procter's decision to keep Kaplan Thaler was somewhat surprising because Procter usually assigns its own agencies after acquiring brands rather than keeping agencies it inherits.
In the late 1990's, flush with cash, he and Mr. Ford began acquiring brands like Saint Laurent, the Italian shoemaker Sergio Rossi and Balenciaga.
Instead, it chose to bolster its presence in the North American frozen-pizza business, acquiring brands like DiGiorno and Tombstone in the United States, Delissio in Canada and the California Pizza Kitchen trademark.
He has been at the company for 19 years, the last three as chief executive, and helped turn the company into the world's third-largest brewer by acquiring brands like Beck's of Germany and Bass in Britain.
Overall, Torres thinks PepsiCo had done a good job in building up its noncarbonated offerings, either by internally developing or acquiring brands.
While the U.S. financial system tried to pick itself up after another crash, one that precipitated the creation of the Federal Reserve System, General Motors went on a buying spree, acquiring brands like Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and the Reliance Truck Company, within just a year.
"This is a deal that gets all the things he aspires to acquire — brand, scale and best-in-class businesses".
Viacom and News Corporation want to build or acquire brand new online businesses as well as to expand their existing brands onto the internet.
