Joele Frank, advising 58 transactions in the first six months of the year, was the top M&A PR adviser for the period, according to The Deal.
JF, which also led in Q1, counseled the acquiring or bidding entity in 32 deals and the target/seller in 26. That included the $2B Hill-Rom/Welch Allyn merger and the $574M sale of Coach's luxury shoe brand Stuart Weitzman.
Sard Verbinnen & Co. was involved in 33 transactions in the first half, followed by Kekst and Company (19), Abernathy MacGregor Group (11) and Brunswick and Owen Blicksilver PR (9 apiece).
Sard's current roster includes Aetna's blockbuster $37B move to acquire Humana.
The Deal reports that first half M&A activity set records thanks to "confident executives, favorable credit markets and eager buyers, particularly in the healthcare market."
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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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