Former Waggener Edstrom Subsidiary OnPR is Now an Independent Agency OnPR Grows With Addition of Four Clients

Former Waggener Edstrom Subsidiary OnPR is Now an Independent Agency OnPR Grows With Addition of Four Clients

SEATTLE, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The managing executives of OnPR have completed a transaction to buy the agency, previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Waggener Edstrom Strategic Communications. As an independent firm, OnPR will focus on providing senior public relations service and counsel to companies in wireless and enterprise technology. The company operates in Portland, Ore.; Bellevue, Wash.; San Francisco; and Munich, Germany, and partners with agencies in Europe and Asia to provide services to its clients. Terms of the buyout were not disclosed.

"This is an important milestone for the agency," said Jody Peake, who was an original founder and partner at Waggener Edstrom before joining OnPR as CEO in 2003. "We have incredibly strong talent with experience helping companies in wireless and enterprise technology connect with members of the media. Our independence allows us different options to reward our senior people, including broadening ownership of the agency over time. This is important since our value to our clients is so closely tied to the quality of OnPR employees."

"This is a beneficial move for both parties," said Michael Bigelow, chief financial officer at Waggener Edstrom. "For OnPR, independence offers the management team complete freedom in determining the future direction of the agency, and for Waggener Edstrom, it allows us to redirect our energies and resources in new areas that we intend to pursue."

In addition to the management buyout, OnPR announced four new clients: SNAPin Software Inc., which offers customer-care technology to wireless carriers; M:Metrics, a venture-backed provider of syndicated wireless subscriber measurement data; Wireless Services Corp., which provides value-added wireless data products for carriers; and OPUS Research Inc., which provides analysis, advice and forecasts.

The agency was originally founded as pr.com in 1997 and built a strong reputation in the wireless industry. It was acquired by Waggener Edstrom in 2001 and renamed OnPR in 2003.

"We are once again seeing significant positive momentum in wireless technologies, and the agency is well-positioned to help companies in that market achieve their goals," said Dave Wilson, chief financial officer at OnPR. Wilson was a co-owner of pr.com prior to its 2001 sale to Waggener Edstrom and has spent much of his professional career in the wireless and telecommunications industries.

About OnPR

OnPR provides strategic public relations services to innovative enterprise, wireless/telecom and consumer technology companies. The agency's seasoned professionals help clients to achieve their business goals by building awareness and shaping opinions. Clients include Qsent, RadiSys, Siebel Systems, Wireless Services Corporation (WSC) and others. OnPR operates in Portland, Oregon; Bellevue, Washington; San Francisco, California; and Munich, Germany and has close affiliations with partners in Europe and Asia.

About Waggener Edstrom

Waggener Edstrom provides strategic communications to companies that bring new inventions, discoveries and ideas to market. In simple terms, the company works tenaciously to give its clients' complex ideas a powerful voice to reach a variety of audiences. Founded in 1983, the agency has grown to nearly 600 employees with U.S. headquarters in Seattle and European headquarters in London. Waggener Edstrom partners with innovative clients, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Connexion by Boeing, Corixa Corp., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Kyocera Mita America, MasterCard International, Microsoft Corp., Texas Instruments and T-Mobile USA.


Source: Waggener Edstrom

CONTACT: press only, Rob Goodman of OnPR, +1-503-635-5604, or
robg@onpr.com; or Amy Columbo of Waggener Edstrom, +1-425-467-5471, or
amyc@wagged.com


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