Batey goes Grey-er, PR arm rolled into H&K

• Grey Group takes over Batey
• Batey name and staff remain
• PR arm Batey Consulting to be merged into H&K

UPDATED - The iconic Batey name has taken another hit to its bows with Batey Ads to become part of the Grey Group and PR arm Batey Consulting to be merged into Hill & Knowlton.

Batey is currently part of the JWT group of companies and a realignment within WPP will see the ownership being transferred to Grey Group, a move that some sources are terming as a "business transfer" deal rather than an acquisition. Batey will keep its brand name and its creative and account servicing staff.

Confirming the news, Alan Fairnington, CEO of Batey, said the creative agency is not closing. Fairnington said the realignment with Grey Singapore aims to improve the agency's operating margins.

"We can do this by merging our back end functions with Grey. The front end of the business will not be affected and clients should see no difference in account service and creative," he said.

While Fairnington refused to reveal further details, Batey's PR arm Batey Consulting does not fall under the purview of this deal and will be folded into Hill & Knowlton. Beth Kennedy, CEO of Batey Consulting, declined to comment and directed all enquiries to Fairnington.

Hill & Knowlton confirmed it was taking over the clients of Batey Consulting, but declined to comment further. The future of Batey Consulting's staff is unkown.

Batey Ads has taken a hit in recent times with account losses that include Audi. In November Batey's Thai office closed. However, its operations in Malaysia will have no changes and will continue to remain a part of JWT Group.

According to Fairnington, Batey will be able to leverage on deeper in-house resources in the online and activation areas of G2, and it will also get support servicing its largest client Qatar Airways from Grey's office in Doha.