PR company Powerscourt Group, the agency founded by former journalist Rory Godson, has been acquired by a US firm backed by the private equity group of former Ryanair chairman David Bonderman.
US firm Morrow Sodali, a global shareholder engagement and governance advisory company, has confirmed the purchase of the Powerscourt as the latest in a number of acquisitions.
Founded in 2004 by Mr Godson, a former editor of the Sunday Times Ireland Edition, Powerscourt has 75 staff based between London and Dublin, advising more than 170 clients, including many listed in the FTSE 100.
New York headquartered Morrow Sodali has about 500 staff across 14 international offices. Morrow Sodali is majority owned by US private equity giant TPG Growth, which manages some $139 billion (€131 billion) of assets in more than 80 markets worldwide.
TPG Growth was founded by Mr Bonderman, a US billionaire who chairs the company and also served as chairman of Ryanair for two decades before stepping down in 2020.
While the terms of the acquisition are undisclosed, the price tag for the Powerscourt group, which represents high-profile clients in the UK and Ireland including former BP chief executive Bernard Looney and companies such as Eir, DCC and Airbus, could be as high as £50 million (€57.86 million), according to Sky News.
Powerscourt is the latest in a number of recent acquisitions by Morrow Sodali, which also include Australian corporate communication and investor relations firm Citadel-MAGNUS, and ESG consulting firms HXE Partners and FrameworkESG.
Morrow Sodali said the acquisition will provide a growth platform for the company to build a full-service advisory and shareholder services practice across Europe, with the financial backing of TPG.
Powerscourt’s senior management team, led by founder and chief executive Rory Godson and managing partner Victoria Palmer-Moore, will remain with the business to help build out the European platform.
“We are adding new capabilities and new countries, transforming Powerscourt into a multidisciplinary advisory firm with global reach. The Powerscourt team has proved itself with its core services in its home markets. We will now be able to deliver greater perspective for boards, leadership teams and public figures,” said Mr Godson.
Christian Sealey, international chief executive of Morrow Sodali, said that the acquisition is a “significant development” for Morrow Sodali, and a key part of its global strategy to “create a unique, highly differentiated, full-service proposition for our clients”.
Ransom Langford, partner at TPG, said that the offerings delivered by Powerscourt in a “key geography” will support Morrow Sodali in becoming “the undisputed best service provider in stakeholder relations”.
“The combination is also an ideal platform for growth as we look for further opportunities across Europe,” he said.
