Cossette pays pounds 7.8m for MCBD.(Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy)(mergers and acquisitions)

The Canadian holding company has acquired an initial 51 per cent stake in the six-year-old agency.

Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy has sold a 51 per cent stake to Cossette Communication Group as a prelude to an eventual takeover.

The move is part of a six-year, three-stage deal which saw the Canadian marketing group pay an initial pounds 7.8 million cash for a majority stake in MCBD. It also includes its marketing arm, Elvis.

The second phase of the deal will start in three years' time, when Cossette will have the option to increase its ownership to 75 per cent. The fee will be based on current predictions of future growth and profitability.

The remaining part of the deal will be actioned in five years, when Cossette will have the option to take 100 per cent ownership of the agency.

The group estimates that the agency's final price could be as much as pounds 27 million. For this to happen, MCBD will need to grow substantially and continue its recent run of new-business success that has seen it win accounts including Jet, Subaru and Debenhams.

The Cossette deal ties the MCBD founders and principle shareholders Jeremy Miles, Helen Calcraft, Paul Briginshaw and Malcolm Duffy into the agency for the next six years.