Vanguard Media purchases Ballard Communications

Michelle Swafford

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

Vanguard Media Group finalized its deal to purchase Ballard Communications Inc. on Monday afternoon, enhancing its public relations offerings.

Company founder Mike Ballard said he sold his 13-year-old public relations firm to Vanguard, which provides advertising and public relations services, because he thought it was best for his company and clients. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For the past four years, Ballard said he has been focused more on buying and selling businesses and helping them obtain financing than on public relations; so he hired someone to run the firm about a year ago.

"I just felt it was better to have a bigger firm as a partner," Ballard said.

Ballard will remain involved with the merged company as a director, Vanguard partner John Kindred said.

Vanguard was interested in Ballard because of his "access and expertise" in Las Vegas, which could enhance Vanguard's local presence, he said.

Vanguard, which has headquarters in Salt Lake City and offices in Reno and Boise, opened a Las Vegas office about five years ago. In July 2001, Vanguard acquired Las Vegas resident Paula Yakubik's public relations firm, MassMedia. Yakubik said she bought back Vanguard's interest in her company in September.

It was the relationship between MassMedia and Vanguard that interested Ballard in merging with Vanguard, Ballard said.

The merger of Ballard and Vanguard creates a company with more than 40 employees in Las Vegas and a variety of clients including Jones Vargas law firm, Nevada JobConnect, Krispy Kreme and Zion's First National Bank.

The merger should not affect most of the clients, but Vanguard is reviewing the accounts to make sure it does not represent competing clients, Kindred said.

Vanguard will continue to focus on clients that specialize in computer technology, government and real estate, which are important industries in the West, Kindred said.

Ballard's decision to sell his company to Vanguard came a few months after negotiations failed with Pete Codella. Codella was Ballard's former general manager and expressed interest in buying the public relations firm, but Ballard said the deal was unsatisfactory.