WPP Mulls Burson Divestiture
Mon, Apr. 13, 2026
By Kevin McCauley
WPP CEO Cindy Rose has retained Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options regarding its Burson PR flagship, according to a report in the London Times.
| Category: PR Firm News | Return to Latest News |
WPP CEO Cindy Rose has retained Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options regarding its Burson PR flagship, according to a report in the London Times.
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Top row (l to r): Jonathan Rosen, Chris Wahl, Valerie De La Gaza, Keith Zakheim, Jonathan Jadali, Greg Mondshein; Steven Shapiro; 2nd: Evan Nierman, Dana Rhoden Baran, Brian Bellmont, April Mason; Barbara Goldberg, Scott Baradell, Gina Rubel; 3rd: Lori Rosen, Bob Spoerl, Kristine Naidl, Andrew Healy, Josh Inglis, Chris Frates, Filomena Fanelli This year, the O’Dwyer’s rankings for top PR firms took a jump from 133 to 140 entries—a number that includes 21 firms that were not in the rankings last year. |
ICR releases a report that says the SPAC IPO market has been trending upward—and is likely to stay on that track... Washington Women in PR is sponsoring an April 15 event that looks at how women can change the dynamics that often keep them in lower-visibility positions through strategic self-advocacy and organizational awareness... Life Science Cares Boston, an organization supported by LaVoieHeathScience, will convene leaders, employees and partners from across the life sciences industry for its annual Impact Breakfast on April 13 at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.
Cortney Stapleton, Chief Strategy & Business Officer at Highwire PR and former CEO of The Bliss Group, joins Taking the Lead to share the leadership philosophies that have shaped her career.
Bell Yard Communications and Kysen PR, London-based firms that focus on legal market and litigation PR, are merging. The combined firm will operate as Bell Yard Kysen Communications... FINN Partners launches Travel with Tastemakers, a global report that looks at more than 25 destinations through the eyes of the creatives who shape them... Baker Public Relations, a woman-owned agency based in Albany with offices in Pittsburgh, PA and St. Petersburg, FL, rebrands as The Baker Agency.
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Clockwise: Richard Edelman, Kathy Bloomgarden, Steve Halsey, Peter Finn, John Gogarty, Shankar Narayanan Public relations firms recorded a 3.8 percent increase in combined 2025 fee income to $4.8B, according to the 140 independent firms ranked by O’Dwyer’s. |
ChangeMakers, an independent shop with 400 professionals across Canada and the U.S., is merging with The Creative Dept., which advises innovative and culture-shaping companies on brand strategy and creative direction... Full Court Press Communications, a Bay Area-based strategic communications firm, celebrates its 25th anniversary... R&J Strategic Communications marks its 40th anniversary by launching its Moments That Made a Difference campaign.
Stagwell has named Michael Twedell senior VP, enterprise AI solutions, a new position.
Omnicom CEO John Wren enjoyed a 222 percent jump in 2025 compensation to $69.9M as the firm completed the acquisition of Interpublic.
PAN consolidates its AI visibility research and best practices into the AI Credibility Hub... The Door, the integrated PR and marketing subsidiary of Dolphin, opens an office in Miami... Collins + Co., of Baltimore expands its operations with an office in Denver, led by chief of creative Carli Cohen and VP of marketing Melissa Novitski... The Global Risk Advisory Council is hosting an April 14 webinar that will look at how executives and organizations in the philanthropy sector can navigate this time of unprecedented risk.
Highwire launches Highwire Health, a unified healthcare marketing and communications practice... Red Fan Communications, an Austin, TX firm focused on strategic B2B communications, announces the launch of its Brand Authority Index—a diagnostic tool that quantifies how companies show up in AI-powered search... Dreamday introduces its influencer division, which formalizes a core capability within the agency’s integrated Performance PR model.
DGA Group is holding a virtual executive briefing on the evolving conflict in the Gulf and the implications it has for global business. The briefing is on Wed., April 1, at 9:30 a.m... Kana, an AI-native marketing platform, forms a strategic partnership with martech and data consultancy Transparent Partners... Capitol Communicator, which provides marketing and communicators news to readers in the DC area, and technology news platform Potomac Tech Wire are co-producing the Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit, which will take place at DC’s MLK Library Conference Center in Penn Quarter on Wednesday, October 14.
Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital announced today that it will team with New Element Media to produce a documentary, “Chasing the Dream,” about the 2026 World Cup.
Signal AI, which provides AI-driven reputation and risk intelligence, acquires Memo, a platform that gathers readership data directly from publishers, revealing exactly how many people are reading about a brand at the article level... HAVAS Red forms a strategic partnership with Eureka&Co., a Mexico City-based agency... High Lantern Group managing director Katy Riddick will lead a free March 30 webinar, Turning Mental Health Investment into Workforce Impact.
UpSpring, which works in the built space, launches “Play with Matches,” a podcast featuring conversations with architects, designers, marketers and industry visionaries... Blockworks unveils Blockworks Investor Relations, a platform designed to modernize how onchain businesses communicate with investors... The Public Relations Global Network adds London-based OVID Health.
Public Policy Holding Company recorded 24.7 percent growth in 2025 revenues to $186.5M and a 32.1 percent surge in adjusted net income to $36.6M. Organically, it was up 6.2 percent.
Ruder Finn acquires The Equity Group, a New York-based investor relations agency... PRSA announces FutureCon 2026, a one-day summit on May 14 that will look at how artificial intelligence, media disruption and evolving stakeholder expectations are reshaping the communications industry.... IPREX held its inaugural IPREX Leadership Development Conference from March 16-20....Elpida, a Tel Aviv-based AI-powered marketing compliance platform built for the healthcare industry, launches a new platform designed to streamline regulatory compliance.
ICR Inc represents Swarmer, the Austin-based drone technology company, whose IPO chalked up the biggest one-day price jump since Newsmax went public a year ago.
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