- Deal is result of succession planning and preserves LINK’s entrepreneurial spirit
- LINK remains a separate legal entity within the YouGov Group and keeps existing brand
- YouGov strengthens market position in German-speaking Europe
- Companies and organisations in Switzerland gain access to expanded range of services through YouGov’s global database
LINK Marketing Services AG (LINK), Switzerland’s leading market and social research company, and YouGov plc (YouGov), the major international research and data analytics group, signed an agreement where YouGov acquired 100% of LINK’s shares. As a result, LINK is now part of the YouGov Group.
The transaction successfully concludes the ownership selection process by LINK’s former shareholders. After its transformation and years of profit-oriented growth under new operational management, LINK’s former shareholders have decided to hand over entrepreneurial responsibility for the company to a new owner.
The aim of LINK’s former shareholders’ was to structure their succession in such a way that ensures its entrepreneurial management, preserves its character as an independent company with its own range of services and secures its long-term development prospects.
LINK remains independent
With the acquisition by YouGov, LINK’s aims have been achieved. While LINK is now a part of the YouGov Group, its existing management will stay in place, the LINK brand will remain and will continue to stand for the highest quality data and constant innovation.
Through the deal, LINK will gain access to YouGov’s highly successful data products. These are built on a continuous stream of accurate data from a panel of 17 million registered members worldwide, capturing and analysing the opinions, attitudes and behaviour of people around the globe in real time.
Striving for market leadership in German-speaking Europe
“In YouGov we have found a successor who shares our management philosophy and, like us, has been growing with increasing margins for several years. As innovation leaders in their markets, the two companies complement each other perfectly and together have excellent prerequisites for dynamic growth,” explains Lodovico Simone, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LINK.
Stephan Shakespeare, founder and CEO of YouGov adds: “LINK is the undisputed data and research leader in the Swiss market. This deal complements our growing business in German-speaking Europe and we are gaining an innovation-led company who knows the local characteristics of these markets very well. Switzerland is one of the most internationally integrated industrial countries in the world and therefore the ideal market for a global provider like YouGov.”
No personnel changes are planned with the acquisition and there will be no changes in client contacts or leadership team. The organisation of the comoany and its client commitments remain unchanged. For LINK employees, however, new attractive professional opportunities may arise within the scope of their duties.
LINK is the leader in the Swiss market and has 40 years’ experience in social and market research. With 50 experienced research consultants, it is ideally positioned to distribute YouGov’s globally recognised data products in Switzerland.
About YouGov
YouGov is an international research and data analytics group.
Our mission is to supply a continuous stream of accurate data into what the world thinks, so that organisations can better serve the communities that sustain them.
Our 17 million registered members provide us with a highly engaged proprietary panel that delivers thousands of data points on consumer opinions, attitudes and behaviour on a daily basis. We combine this continuous stream of data with our research expertise to provide insights that enable intelligent decision-making and informed conversations.
With operations in the UK, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia Pacific, YouGov has one of the world’s largest research networks.
Founded in 2000, the company now employs more than 1650 people in 37 offices around the globe. YouGov’s turnover has grown by 11% in the past year and today reaches GBP 169 million (approx. CHF 211 million).
The company has been run by Stephan Shakespeare, one of the two founders, since the beginning. The business is divided into three divisions, Data Products, Data Services and Custom Research. YouGov is listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: YOU) and has a market capitalisation of GBP 1.5 billion (approx. CHF 1.9 billion).
About LINK
Founded in 1981 with headquarters in Lucerne, Switzerland, LINK Marketing Services AG today is one of the largest full-service market and social research institutes in German-speaking countries and the Swiss market leader. With 115,000 members, the LINK online panel is the largest and best quality panel in Switzerland. The company employs around 100 people at its three locations in Lucerne, Zurich and Lausanne, as well as around 500 interviewers on a part-time basis. Every year, LINK handles around 800 research projects for its clients, focusing on the highest quality and constant innovation.
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