Global & Regional M&A PR Advisory Rankings 2024
- FGS Global undisputed king of the PR world in 2024
- Brunswick Group takes second spot on global scale with 101% YoY rise
- ICR (CT) and Headland Consultancy enter global rankings with significant deal value growth
As global M&A rebounded in 2024, public relation (PR) firms assisting on deals also saw a resurgence, according to Mergermarket’s 2024 PR league tables, with a few big names asserting their dominance.
The same three firms dominated the global value charts in 2024 as they had in 2023, albeit in a different order. These were: KKR-backed FGS Global, which jumped one spot to advise on 459 deals valued at USD 700bn; Brunswick Group, also up a spot with a 101% year-on-year [YoY) rise in deal value to USD 583bn; and Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, which lost its gold from 2023, but still managed to take the bronze with about USD 510bn in deal value.
FGS Global displayed its dominance as a buy-side PR firm, working with the bidder on 80% of its 459 deals. It worked across several sectors but its top three were technology, financial services, and energy. Brunswick worked with the buyside on 67% of its 295 deals with the energy sector a major contributor, followed by financial services and technology.
The only two new names on the value charts were Connecticut, US-based ICR (CT), and UK-based Headland Consultancy, up 255% and 377% to USD 136bn and USD 95bn, respectively. Both ICR (CT) and Headland worked with bidders on more than 60% of their 130 and 81 deals, respectively; for both firms, tech deals contributed to about a quarter of their total.
Similar names played on the global deal count rankings. As it had on the value game, FGS Global climbed a spot to take the helm with 459 deals under its belt, 154 more than it had in 2023. Prosek Partners (299) and Brunswick Group (295) battled it out for second and third spots, with less than five deals separating them.
Regional leaders
In Europe, the same three names dominated in 2024 as they did in 2023. FSG Global (USD 256bn) with the gold; Brunswick Group (USD 230bn) with the silver; and Joele Frank Wilson Brimmer Katcher (USD 103bn) with the bronze. The three new names on the elite top ten list by value included Headland Consultancy, H/Advisors Abernathy, and Prosek Partners. By Value, FGS dominated in the UK, in Germany, in the Nordics, and in the Middle East and Africa (MEA); Brunswick in France; LLYC in Spain, and Barabino & Partners in Italy.
Brunswick Group (187) and FGS Global (183) also dominated EMEA by deal count, battling it out with a mere four-deal difference between them. At the third spot, up from fifth in 2023, was Milan-based Barabino & Partners (part of Excellera Advisory Group).
In the Americas, 2023’s first and second spot leaders exchanged places, with FGS Global taking the crown with USD 605bn in deals, up 60% from 2023; while Joele Frank Wilson Brimmer Katcher (275) slipped into second at USD 508bn. Brunswick Group stayed put at number three, up an impressive 156% to USD 417bn.
The same three firms played musical chairs on the deal count field: FGS Global (352) climbing one spot to first position; Prosek Partners (275) up one spot to second; and Joele Frank (248) slipping two slots to third. Stanton Public Relations & Marketing (94) and Edelman (83) were two new names on the top ten, ousting 2023’s FTI Consulting and Gregory FCA Communications.
It was only in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), that all first three spots were not dominated by the same names. While Brunswick Group (USD 62bn) took the crown followed by FGS Global (USD 32bn), it was Australia-based GRACosway that landed third with USD 28bn in deals under its belt. While FGS Global took the crown in Japan and Greater China, it was GRACosway that landed the gold in Australasia, up 317% YoY to USD 29bn.
FGS Global jumped three spots to take the crown by deal count in the region at 59 deals; NY-based Sodali & Co, with 48 deals, held its silver from 2023; and Brunswick Group took the bronze with 40 transactions.