Toronto’s Cundari Group has expanded its North American presence with the buyout of 80% of New York-based ad agency Heller & Cohen, now renamed Cundari Heller & Cohen.

Cundari Heller & Cohen clients include business from chocolatier Ferrero USA, 1-800-Flowers, and Lufthansa German Airlines.

Heller & Cohen is a 15-year-old agency known for its direct mail and sales promotion work, according to a spokesman for Cundari. The New York agency plans on hiring 20 new people over the next three months, he adds.

Cundari, which labels itself an integrated agency, has for some time been looking for additional business south of the border. Two years ago, it opened an office in Springfield, Mass. when it landed the Friendly’s Restaurants fast-food chain account. The New England business is being folded into Cundari Heller & Cohen.

In Canada, Cundari clients include BMW Canada, Hewlett-Packard, SmithKline Beecham, Ramada Hotels and Laidlaw Waste Systems.

The company also owns 50% of London agency Cundari Marketing Perspective and is close to closing a deal for an agency in Australia.