 Archie Berens |
Britain's Hanover Group has acquired Bell Pottinger Middle East and its 14 staffers headed by managing director Archie Berens.
Accountant BDO, which is administering the disposition of the assets of collapsed Bell Pottinger, hammered out the deal with Hanover, which has fees in the $30M range.
Jonty Summers, Hanover Middle East managing director, will head the combined business with Berens moving into the chairman slot.
Hanover founder/CEO Charles Lewington called the Bell Pottinger Middle East unit "a terrific business with a talented, professionally run team which presents a strategic opportunity for Hanover to supercharge its growth in the region.’
Prior to launching Hanover, Lewington was press secretary to former UK prime minister John Major and reporter for the Daily Express.
Hanover, which has offices in London, Dublin and Brussels, has provided corporate and PA counsel to blue-chips such as Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Sky TV, Tata Steel and Airbus.
Public Policy Holding Company grew 27.5 percent to $50.1M during Q1, powered by the accelerating contribution from recent acquisitions and a 5.1 percent hike in organic revenues across its three operating segments.
Institutional Shareholder Services advises investors to vote "no" on a compensation package for WPP chief Cindy Rose at the May 8 annual meeting.
FTI Consulting chalked up a 9.5 percent rise in Q1 revenues to $983.3M, powered by gains in its PR, corporate finance and technology segments.
Stagwell reports 4 percent growth in Q1 net revenues to $585M and a record $141M in net new business wins.
WPP reported a 6.7 percent drop to $3.1B in Q1 like-like revenues less pass-through costs. CEO Cindy Rose says 'it will take time to outpace historical losses."
