Several Executives of P.R. Firm Joele Frank to Start Own Firm
There was a time when companies doing big deals could turn to only a handful of firms for advice. But the booming demand for counsel on acquisitions, activist investors and corporate crises has widened that circle and, increasingly, led to the creation of new firms.
The latest example is Collected Strategies, which is being started by several executives at the communications firm Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, along with Ed Hammond, a longtime mergers-and-acquisitions reporter for Bloomberg.
“Business news coverage, whether of transactions, high-profile crises or ongoing corporate activity, has evolved,” Mr. Hammond, a founding partner, said in a statement. “Communications advice needs to as well.”
The firm is starting in a period of elevated scrutiny of Wall Street’s activities. Investment firms have found themselves the focus of anger from both liberal and conservative groups. While overall deal making has been down, last year was the busiest in four years for activist investors, who take stakes in companies and demand change.
Source: The New York Times
