 |
| Mark Penn |
Stagwell Group, a holding company formed by Mark Penn in 2015, has proposed merging with MDC Partners to create a $2B ad/PR combine.
Penn, who chairs and owns a 30 percent MDC stake, said a deal would result in $35M in cost synergies and offer "best-in-class combination of insights, creative, digital and performance."
Stagwell's $4.25 per-share offer represents a 263 percent premium to MDC's June 24 closing stock price of $1.17
MDC has formed a special committee of the board to evaluate Stagwell's officer. “We are committed to maximizing shareholder value and, if it makes sense to proceed, we will do so in a thoughtful and diligent manner," said Irwin Smith, lead independent director of the company.
MDC recorded a 0.3 percent dip in first-quarter revenues to $327.7M and a $2.4M loss.
Its PR units include Allison + Partners, KWT Global and Hunter.
Stagwell's PR properties are Finn Partners, SKDKnickerbocker, Sloane & Co. and Wye Communications.
Changes in the way that states impose tax on service providers pose serious concerns for how public relations, advertising and media firms may be exposed to new tax obligations in our ever-expanding service-based economy.
Stagwell reported a three percent decline in Q1 revenues to $622M, a performance that CEO Mark Penn said was in line with management’s expectations.
WPP reported 2.9 percent growth in Q1 revenues to $3.5B, sparked by client spending in the data, communications and customer experience categories.
Interpublic reported Q1 net revenue dropped 2.3 percent to $2.2B. Organic revenues dipped 0.2 percent compared to a 11.5 percent rise in last year’s period.
Public Policy Holding Company posted a 9.5 percent boost in revenues to $108.8M in 2022, which was its first full year as a publicly traded company.
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.