A small, Connecticut-based investment firm, Mill Road Capital will acquire Canada's largest independent advertising and communications agency Cossette Inc. at a cost of about $131.5 million.
The Chief Executive Officer and President, Claude Lessard said, “We are very pleased with this transaction for many reasons: it better reflects Cossette's true value and exemplifies our commitment to maximize value for all our shareholders". The deal is supported by 30 percent of Cossette’s shareholders.

Yesterday, Cossette shares gained $1.94 on the Toronto Stock Exchange to close at $7.79 per share which is its highest level in a year. Mill Road Capital offered to pay $7.87 per share in cash for all Cossette's shares. The battle to take over the firm began when Cosmos Capital Inc., a rival company, offered to pay $4.95 per share for the ad agency; that bid was rejected by the board for undervaluing the firm. Cossette is an independent agency which stands out and is dominated by massive multi-nationals.

"They're well respected folks that run a very smart, very strategic agency. They have clients that are very big and broad with complex marketing challenges, making a lot of different products in a lot of different areas with a lot of different people to keep happy", said Mary Maddever, executive editor for Strategy magazine.

Cossette has about 1,485 employees across Canada, New York, Los Angeles, London, England and Shanghai, China. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, after shareholders will give their approval at a meeting scheduled for Dec. 18.