WPP takes stake in US car industry specialist

Advertising conglomerate WPP has made a small strategic investment in Enprecis, a US company which uses a proprietary online platform to collect and analyse data about consumer experience for the car industry.

WPP is paying $1.2m for a minority stake in Enprecis, continuing its strategy of investing in fast-growing markets and sectors and further strengthening the capabilities of Kantar, its insight, information and consultancy group.

Enprecis was founded in 2006 and is based in Seattle, Washington. It employs 30 people and has offices in Paris and Shanghai. The company's gross assets in 2011 were $686,000. Most of the world's major car makers are its client base.

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Enprecis will be aligned with the automotive practice in TNS, the global market research company that is part of Kantar.

JH