Ingenious Corporate Finance has advised The Engine Group, the UK's largest privately owned integrated communications group, on the 100% acquisition of Hogarth Partnership, a leading financial and corporate PR consultancy, for a mixture of cash and shares.
Hogarth will enhance Engine's stakeholder communications offer alongside Mandate Communications, itself the result of a recent merger of public affairs specialist AS Biss and corporate PR consultants Republic PR. The acquisition reinforces Engine's ability to deliver integrated corporate, financial, public affairs and stakeholder communications campaigns to major public, private and government organisations and agencies.
This acquisition is the latest in a series of acquisitions on which Ingenious has advised Engine. Previous acquisitions for Engine include: Karen Earl (sports marketing consultancy), DC Interact (digital communications), Republic PR (public affairs), Digital Public (digital strategy within the public sector), Liquid Communications (brand activation), Partners Andrews Aldridge (direct marketing) and Fuel Data Strategies (data analytics).
Nick Harvey, Head of Ingenious Corporate Finance, said:
''We are delighted to have advised Engine on the successful acquisition of Hogarth, a deal which compliments Engine's existing public and corporate affairs activities and significantly enhances Engine's overall stakeholder communications proposition.''
''This deal marks the third acquisition that Ingenious has advised Engine on this year, following closely behind the Partners Andrews Aldridge and Fuel Data Strategies acquisitions announced last month. We have enjoyed working closely with Engine over the last 2 years, through a period of significant corporate activity. In total we have advised Engine on 8 acquisitions and an £8m institutional fund raising, and look forward to continuing our advisory relationship as Engine creates the leading UK integrated communications group.''
Peter Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Engine, said:
''Our intention is to build a high quality, broad based group of consultancies who are outstanding within their own specialised disciplines and, by working together in a group designed to deliver an integrated service in terms of people, systems and process, can deliver a truly unified offering to clients as well as individual solutions.''
''We have highlighted our corporate and stakeholder capabilities as a strategic part of our future growth. Central to this has been the search for a financial PR consultancy responsive to Engine's working model. We have got to know the Hogarth partners slowly over the past two years. We understand each others' purpose and how, in joining us, Hogarth can work with other Engine companies to deliver against the needs of our current and future clients.''
Nick Harvey, Head of Corporate Finance, and Alex Cartwright, Associate Director, acted on the transaction for Ingenious Corporate Finance.
About Ingenious
Ingenious, which was founded in 1998 by Patrick McKenna, former Head of the Media and Entertainment Group at Deloitte and Touche and chairman and CEO of the Really Useful Group, is a specialist media investment and advisory business with six principal operating subsidiaries; Asset Management, Consulting Network, Corporate Finance, Investments, Securities and Ventures.
As the market leader in media investment and strategy, Ingenious provides the full range of services to companies in the media sector, from strategic and corporate finance advice to private equity funding, as well as providing innovative investment solutions for the private investor.
About Ingenious Corporate Finance
Ingenious Corporate Finance provides advice on the full range of corporate finance transactions, including corporate sales, fund-raising and all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including MBOs, disposals and restructurings.
Providing specialist advice in the media sector, Ingenious Corporate Finance acts for shareholders in owner managed companies, major corporate groups, private equity investors and management teams across the full spectrum of media businesses including Film and Television Production & Distribution, Music Publishing, Mobile Content, Broadcasting, Business & Professional Publishing, Consumer Publishing, Marketing Services, Radio, Media Services, Recorded Music, Broadband Content, Digital Media and Video Games.
Ingenious Corporate Finance
Nick Harvey / Alex Cartwright
Tel: +44 (0)20 7319 4000
Fishburn Hedges
Andy Berry / Paul French
Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 4321