By Duncan Mackay

Sebastian Coe in front of CSM logoFebruary 1 - International marketing group Chime Communications has officially completed its multi-million pound acquisition of the management consultancy firm of Sebastian Coe, it has been announced. 


Chime had announced last October that it had entered into an agreement with Coe to buy 93 per cent of the Complete Leisure Group Limited (CLG), which owns all the rights to his income streams over the next 15 years including commissions, royalties and consulting income.

That option has now been exercised and the acquisition has been completed, Chime announced.

Coe has been appointed executive chairman of CSM Sport and Entertainment.

Coe is one of the most high profile figures in world sport following the success of London 2012 and the "acquisition of CLG will assist CSM Sport & Entertainment in its ambition to become one of the top three sports and entertainment businesses in the world", Chime said in a statement to the Stock Exchange.

On completion Chime, a holding company for a portfolio of companies which include public relations, advertising, digital, marketing, deliberative research, corporate responsibility and design, paid an initial £1.96 million ($3.11 million/€2.28 million) in cash - an increase from the £1.5 million ($2.4 million/€1.7 million) referred to in the initital announcement last October.

In addition, deferred consideration capped at £10.2 million ($16.2 million/€11.9 million) is payable over the period to March 2017 on the achievement of various financial targets.

Gross assets of CLG on completion were £764,000 ($1.2 million/€890,000).

In the year to December 2012 CLG's pretax profit was £154,000 ($245,000/€179,000). 

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