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China’s Ant Group has hired The OB-C Group, which was founded by long-time Democratic operative Lawrence O’Brien.
Ant Group is the fintech arm of Alibaba Group, which was founded by Jack Ma.
Its Airpay app payment system has a billion users in China and a retailer base of 80M.
Chinese regulators scotched a public offering for Ant Group that was slated for the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2020.
It was pitched as the largest-ever IPO ($37B) and would have given Ant Group a market value of more than $300B.
OB-C Group is to deal with US regulatory matters concerning Ant Group and Airpay. It also will handle any corporate issues faced by Airpay.
O’Brien served in the Carter administration and is a top fundraiser for House and Senate Democrats.
Anne Kierig, who was senior manager of public policy at Amazon, has joined the American Advertising Federation as VP-government affairs. She takes over for Clark Rector, who is retiring after a 37-year run at AAF.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which was established in compliance with the executive order signed by President Trump, has hired Valcour LLC, which has close ties with his administration.
Ballard Partners has signed on gunmaker Sturm, Ruger & Co to advocate on behalf of Second Amendment issues.
Sakura Conservation Strategies has registered Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium as a client.
Sachs Media has signed on to represent the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund to advocate for public policies proven to reduce tobacco use, which is the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths in the US and the rest of the world.
