Interbrand may pick stake in Equitor

Equitor has an alliance with Interbrand, but the US major has no equity interest in the company. Interbrand, which has 34 offices in 22 countries, is part of the $7.5 billion transnational Omnicom group, one of the world's largest advertising and marketing companies.

Ramesh Jude Thomas, principal executive officer of Equitor, told Business Standard that talks were on between the companies for striking a financial arrangement.

However, Thomas did not reveal how much stake Interbrand would pick up in Equitor, or the size of the deal. Thomas is the largest shareholder in Equitor.

In its second major brand valuation exercise in India, Interbrand had valued the Titan watch brand of Titan Industries at around Rs 350 crore. In 1997, it had valued the Tata brandname.

Founded in 1974, Interbrand has created and managed several valuable brands such as 3Com, Astra Zeneca, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, Gillette, IBM, Kelloggs, Pepsi, Marks & Spencer, Procter & Gamble and Suzuki.

According to Interbrand, 70 per cent of buyers use brands to guide their purchase decisions, and 40 per cent will pay a premium for a brand that has won their loyalty.

Thirty-eight per cent of the market capitalisation of the 100 Best Global Brands in 2003 is attributed to brand value.