Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher far outpaced M&A PR advisors in the first quarter of 2015 advising 30 transactions, according to The Deal.
Sard Verbinnen & Co. reported in with 14 transactions during the period, followed by Brunswick Group (6), Kekst and Company (5), and Abernathy MacGregor Group and Owen Blicksilver PR (4 each).
Among first quarter deals, Joele Frank is advising Endo in its $11.2B bid for Salix Pharmaceuticals, which is advised by Teneo Strategy and weighing an earlier bid by Valeant (Sard Verbinnen). Joele Frank also handled Sycamore Partners' $574 sale of its Stuart Weitzman shoe business to Coach.
The Deal said (full report, PDF) the healthcare sector, fourth by volume in Q1 of 2014, led the quarter with transactions valued at $127.2B, including four of the largest deals in the quarter. Technology, second in Q1 of 2014 by volume, fell to third this year, although it leads in numbers of transactions.
The largest transaction in the first quarter was Kraft's HJ Heinz tie-up. Brunswick is advising Heinz.
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Kekst CNC reps Palladium Equity Partners and its joint venture affiliate, Palladium Heritage, on the acquisition of National Auto Parts, USA;, NAP San Diego; and National Auto Parts-Oakland to form Collision Auto Parts, a platform serving customers in the automotive aftermarket collision repair sector.
ICR has acquired Bullfrog + Baum, the 23-year-old PR shop focused on the hospitality, lifestyle, travel and consumer marketing sectors.
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