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PPHC, a London-listed public affairs conglomerate, has agreed to buy Texas-based TrailRunner International in an up to $70mn deal that continues the consolidation sweeping the public relations industry.
The US-based group is expected on Monday to confirm plans to strike a mostly cash deal for an initial $33mn, according to two people familiar with the deal. This purchase price could rise to $70mn with “earnouts” linked to the business’s future performance, the people added.
The deal is the latest in a rapidly consolidating public relations industry, with larger firms in particular seeking to bolster their specialist expertise in Downing Street and Washington.
PPHC — which stands for Public Policy Holding Company — is highly acquisitive and has been targeting new deals in the key political centres of London, Brussels and US state capitals. TrailRunner works across corporate affairs, crisis communications, litigation and reputation management.
TrailRunner was founded in 2016 by its executive chair Jim Wilkinson, who served as the chief of staff to Treasury secretary Hank Paulson during the George W Bush administration. Wilkinson later worked for PepsiCo and the Alibaba Group.
TrailRunner has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, where the firm is headquartered, as well as New York, Nashville and northern California. The firm also has operations in London, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
PPHC declined to comment on Sunday. The group’s stated aim is to buy up other PR and lobbying agencies and bring them under one roof, stating on its website: “We believe the market for government affairs and public policy communications is far too fragmented to support the needs of today’s leading businesses and organisations.”
Deal making in the PR industry has been fuelled by interest from private equity firms such as from KKR, which last year took control of financial communications firm FGS Global.
In 2023, Tulchan Communications was sold to Teneo, the advisory firm part-owned by CVC, while Powerscourt was sold to Morrow Sodali, a communications and investor relations firm backed by private equity group TPG.
Other firms are seeking to strengthen their businesses through consolidation as fees come under pressure from shrinking corporate activity such as public equity listings.
PPHC has been buying up and building a portfolio of specialist communications businesses, last year acquiring London-based Pagefield, a communications group founded by lobbyist Mark Gallagher. TrailRunner will be PPHC’s fifth acquisition since its IPO in 2021 on the London Stock Exchange’s junior Aim market.
The acquisition also includes TrailRunner Sports, a sport advisory practice that acts for Dallas Cowboy in the US and Aston Villa in the UK.
The sports marketing industry has seen a surge of interest given the increased investor interest in sports such as football and basketball, making individual athletes and team owners wealthy and sparking dealmaking.
