Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher kept pace atop M&A PR advisors in the US through the third quarter, advising 79 transactions so far this year, according to The Deal.
Joele Frank stayed ahead of No. 2 advisor Sard Verbinnen & Co., which logged 61 transactions through Q3. Both firms worked the $8.4B REIT combination of New York REIT and The JBG Companies in May.
The leaders were well ahead of the rest of the top five, including Kekst and Company (30), Abernathy MacGregor Group (27) and Brunswick Group (23).
Among proxy advisors, Innisfree M&A Inc. worked 31 transactions, followed by McKenzie Partners (17) and D.F. King & Co. (16).
The Deal reported high valuations, geopolitical uncertainties (including Brexit), and fear of regulators kept the M&A dollar total below last year through Q3. For the recent quarter alone, The Deal tallied $495.5M in volume, compared with $861.7M in Q3 o 2015, or a 42.4% decline.
The year's blockbuster transaction -- Bayer's $62B play for Monsanto kicked off in May -- involves Finsbury, Hering Schuppener and Brunswick Group, among others.
Why tracking macroeconomic, legislative and consumer confidence indicators is a beneficial habit for PR agency leaders to adopt.
For public relations agency owners planning to sell, preparation and investment across several key areas will yield the highest valuations and exit terms in 2026.
Kekst CNC represents the DallasNews Corp. as it gets acquired by Hearst Corp. for about $75M. The 140-year-old Dallas Morning News will join Hearst's 28 dailies.
