Kekst and Company led PR firms advising private equity deals in the first quarter as the firm worked 11 transactions, according to the Deal.
Kekst, which repped four target or seller companies and seven acquirers or bidders, was followed by Sard Verbinnen & Co. with 10 deals and an even split of five targets and five acquirers.
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher and Owen Blicksilver PR handled nine deals apiece, while Brunswick Group was involved in eight and Abernathy MacGregor Group took part in four.
The Deal said it is tracking the "advisory class" of law firms, investment banks and PR counsel in private equity deals for the first time as the sector has evolved from large club deals taking companies private to more strategic transactions.
Kirkland & Ellis led law firms, while Barclays Capital was the top investment banks.
The Deal said advisers expected the PE transaction numbers to rise amid better peformance in financial markets in the second quarter.
C Street Advisory handles iRobot Corp as the marketer of the Roomba autonomous vacuum cleaner files Chapter 11 after being squeezed by cheaper competitors.
Joele Frank represents Confluent Inc. as the Mountain View, CA-based data streaming platform company agrees to be acquired by IBM in a deal with an enterprise value of $11B.
Tom Johnson, who has headed H/Advisors Abernathy since 2016, will join FGS Global as global head of private capital & financial services, effective Dec. 16.
Brunswick Group and Gagnier Communications are handling Paramount’s $30 cash per-share offer for all of Warner Bros Discovery, topping Netflix $27.50 cash/stock transaction.
ICR Inc. handles communications for Enhanced Ltd, which plans to run Olympic-type competitions with athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, as it goes public in a SPAC deal valued at $1.2B via a merger with A Paradise Acquisition Corp. of Hong Kong.
