Snyder Communications Explores a Sale

Marketing company Snyder Communications Inc. said it hired Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown to advise on strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including a possible sale of the company. The news sent its shares up $3.19, or 20%, to close at $19 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have hovered below $15 since October, well off their 52-week high of $41 early last February. Bethesda, Md.-based Snyder, which had revenue of $815 million and employs 9,400 people, has grown rapidly in recent years through mergers with media and marketing companies, most notably its 1998 acquisition of Boston-based Arnold Communications Inc. The unit, renamed Arnold Worldwide, may be best known for its ongoing “Drivers Wanted” campaign for Volkswagen. In September, Arnold was chosen to lead creation of a nationwide anti-smoking campaign, using money from last year’s huge settlement with the tobacco industry. Snyder’s Circle.com provides interactive marketing services for Web sites. Daniel Snyder, chairman and chief executive of Snyder Communications, also owns the Washington Redskins football team of the NFL.