Porter Novelli acquires public relations agency FleishmanHillard

Dubai: The public relations agency Porter Novelli has acquired fellow communications firm FleishmanHillard’s Middle East business, leading to four redundancies at the latter.

Both owned by Omnicom Group, one of the four largest advertising agencies in the world, the two companies previously operated independent of one another. Now, FleishmanHillard has confirmed to Gulf News that it has been acquired by Porter Novelli, but will maintain its name. The agencies declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal.

The Missouri-headquartered company said that the move had led to redundancies in the finance and digital departments, and that one senior manager had exited FleishmanHillard as a result.

The move is expected to provide FleishmanHillard, which has a larger global presence but a smaller regional footprint than Porter Novelli, with greater scale across the Middle East.

“Our team is thrilled by the move and the potential it brings us to build the FleishmanHillard brand in the Middle East and Africa,” said Lucy O’Brien, general manager and partner at FleishmanHillard Middle East.

It would also add the benefit of “giving our clients access to integrated creative services under one roof,” O’Brien added.

The company provides public relations services to firms such as Bosch, UBS, Agility, and FedEx, while Porter Novelli represents Souq, Marks & Spencer, and Western Digital, among others.

“Combined we have a deep client roster spanning a multitude of sectors and disciplines, and FleishmanHillard’s clients will only gain from a strengthened Middle East offering.”

In July 2018, Gulf News reported that the agency was restructuring its operations in Saudi Arabia following reports of financial issues.