It was nearly five months in the making, but Lanyon Phillips Partners and BBDO Vancouver have finally put an end to speculation about their merger with the announcement that it’s a done deal.

The new company, to be called Lanyon Phillips BBDO Communications, will operate as an independent shop, rather than a branch office of bbdo.

The partners from the old Lanyon Phillips Partners will retain some equity in the new company with Peter Lanyon in the role of chairman and chief creative officer, Chuck Phillips as president and Tim Kelly as president and creative director of Bazooka Information Design – a unit set up by lpp last year.

Gordon Munroe, who had been managing director of BBDO Vancouver, becomes chief executive officer, while the agency’s senior creative executives, Tony Lee and Greg Rowan, have been named associate creative directors.

The marriage is being hailed as a good fit for the two agencies and is expected to invigorate the Vancouver office of BBDO Canada, which has been through a difficult period lately. The agency had been weakened by several major account losses, including B.C. Hydro (which went to lpp), bc tel and A&W Food Services of Canada, as well as management changes which saw Tony Lee the third creative director appointed in the past two years.

lpp’s star, on the other hand, had been on the rise, with account wins that included Boston Pizza International and B.C. Hydro.

Aside from those two clients, the new agency also lists BC Hot House Foods, Alcan, Citizens Bank and Dairy World on its roster.

The only potential client conflict – between Boston Pizza and Pizza Hut, which is handled out of BBDO Toronto – has been resolved, says Lanyon, and will not affect either account.

Lanyon says there is some staff duplication but that the majority of employees will keep their jobs.