GfK Buys Remainder of US, UK and German Firms

GfK has acquired the remainder of subsidiaries GfK Etilize in the US, media control GfK International in Germany, and GfK UK Entertainments in the UK.

Long Beach, California-based GfK Etilize was founded in 2000 and employs 470 staff who provide product-based information about online transactions across a wide range of technical consumer goods. Founder, CEO and President Azhar Hameed will continue to head the company following GfK's acquisition of the remaining 25% stake.

GfK and media control founded joint venture 'media control GfK International' in 2003. Parts of the media control media monitoring, analysis and evaluation business were subsequently integrated into the new company, which provides a daily overview of consumers' listening, gaming, watching and reading habits. The firm is headquartered in Baden-Baden, where it employs more than 90 staff under the leadership of Ulrike Altig.

London-based GfK UK Entertainments is the holding company for GfK Chart-Track, which gathers sales data for the games industry in the UK, and the music and video sectors in Ireland. The Chart-Track business is led by MD John Pinder, and GfK increased its stake from 70% to 100% in March.

Web site: www.gfk.com .