By Greg Hazley
Brunswick Group chairman and founder Alan Parker is considering a plan to distribute 40 percent of the firm’s shares to its 80 or so partners, according to U.K. reports.
Sky News’ Mark Kleinman reported July 4 that a proposal was floated at a meeting of the firm’s partners in Beijing in May which would make the shares tradeable after a three-year period.
Kleinman noted the deal raises the prospect of Parker, who owns 50 percent, eventually ceding control of the 24-year-old firm. Co-founders Louise Charlton and Andrew Fenwick each maintain 10 percent stakes.
The Financial Times, citing an unnamed source, reported that the firm has seen a "string of high-profile departures over the past few years and equity was a major issue for all of them."
The plan would also put a price on the firm if its top shareholders ever decided to sell, Kleinman said.
Brunswick is among the M&A and financial PR sector’s most prominent players. In the U.S. during the first quarter, it worked 41 merger deals worth nearly $68B, in addition to last year’s high-profile assignments for clients like BP, Dubai’s Department of Finance and Groupon.
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