ACNielsen acquires remaining interest in ACNielsen AMER

ACNielsen AMER, formerly a joint venture between ACNielsen and AMER World Research Ltd, is one of the leading market research companies in the MENA region, offering both Retail Measurement Services and Customized Research.

"We are committed to providing our clients with a deep understanding of their markets and consumers, as well as actionable insights that will help them to continue growing in these complex regions," said Pat Gardiner, President of ACNielsen Emerging Markets. "Our action today emphasizes our strong belief in the growth potential of the MENA markets and the enormous opportunities that exist there for both ACNielsen and our clients. It also caps a long and very successful relationship with AMER World Research, which began with an Eastern Europe joint venture in 1994. We are truly pleased to acquire full ownership of the company along with its great people, premier client base and market leadership position."

In 1994, ACNielsen, in keeping with its strategy to expand and solidify its presence in some of the world's fastest-growing markets, created AMER Nielsen Research, a joint venture with AMER World Research Ltd, a Cypriot-owned market research company founded in 1982 and headquartered in Cyprus. AMER Nielsen Research, which initially supported clients in their expansion to Eastern Europe, soon progressed to many countries in the former Soviet Union, the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and the Indian subcontinent. In 1998, ACNielsen increased its ownership from 51% to 100% of AMER Nielsen Research.

In 1998, ACNielsen also acquired a 49% stake in AMER World Research Ltd., allowing the company to expand in the Middle East and Northern Africa, where the company operated as ACNielsen AMER. Under the terms of that agreement, ACNielsen had an option to acquire the remaining 51% of ACNielsen AMER in 2003.

The acquired business will continue to operate in the MENA region under the name of ACNielsen and will form a sub region of the ACNielsen Emerging Markets region, which is headquartered in Cyprus. ACNielsen Emerging Markets covers more than fifty countries ranging from Central East Europe, the Balkans and the Adriatics to Russia, the Baltics and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Africa, Middle East and Pakistan.

ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, ACNielsen provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.