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Melissa Sauter and Duncan Lawrence join Sima Vasa to share a bit of history of Market Strategies International (MSI) and Morpace. The two leading market research companies are combining after the acquisition by a private equity firm, STG.
In today’s episode, they share the separate histories of their companies and the factors leading to the merger.
“We’re better together. The merger was meant to be.” – Duncan Lawrence
Duncan Lawrence – History of Morpace
Morpace was founded about 40 years ago in 1975, with a focus on automotive. Some decade and so down the road, they realized the need to broaden their focus and do something different. In 1990, they merged with the company Market Opinion Research (MOR).
This merger allowed them to venture into healthcare and financial services, among other other areas. Since then, Morpace has focused on growing organically. They have expanded globally and erected several offices in the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, and China.
Melissa Sauter – Market Strategies: A History
Almost 30 years ago, five former employees from MOR founded MSI. This history of the firm ties back to the Morpace’s history of mergers. Since leaving MOR, the five founders of MSI grew and drove the evolution of their family.
In 2006, a private equity firm acquired MSI. The company subsequently grew through a series of acquisitions of three companies. These developments opened the opportunity for new capabilities, industry focus, and talent.
MSI has been in technology, telecommunications, consumer service, retail, and energy for the past three decades.
The Merger’s Driving Force
Both companies have been looking for an exit strategy for the past few years. MSI and Morpace share a lot of similarities culturally and structurally. The fact that they both differentiate in the markets through deep history knowledge, operational excellence and truly superior client service makes the merger only natural.
Most shareholders look into company size when considering mergers, but that is not the sole reason for this move. MSI and Morpace are big enough to offer talent but small enough to consistently deliver on the client service. Melissa Sauter and Duncan Lawrence say that this is their top priority.
“We have no aspirations to be the biggest in the market… It’s about optimizing the scale to best serve our clients.” – Melissa Sauter
Quick links to connect with Melissa Sauter and Duncan Lawrence:
Market Strategies International
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