The global market for mergers and acquisitions experienced what might best be described as a cautious recovery during the first half of 2024 and in the communications arena several firms, led by FGS Global, were among the beneficiaries according to new rankings released by mergermarket this week.

FGS ranked #1 globally in terms of both the value and volume of deals worked during the first half according to the newsletter. The KKR/WPP-owned agency handled 172 deals—19 more then during the same period last year—worth in excess of $300 billion.

Brunswick Group ranked second in terms of the volume of deals globally, handling 155 transactions, 16 more than during the equivalent period, while Prosek Partners saw its deal count increase by 33 to take third spot on the global rankings, handling an agency-best 143 mergers during the period.

FGS, as ever, benefited from its global reach, providing communications support for Bosch of Germany on its acquisition of the residential and light commercial HVAC business from American Johnson Controls and Japanese Hitachi; Novo Holdings of Denmark in its acquisition of Catalent (US); International Paper’s comination with DS Smith of London; and Holcim of Switzerland’s planned spin-off of its North America business.

Says Andrew Cole, deputy global CEO and leader of the firm’s capital markets business, “Cross border transactions, transformational deals, and an increase in private equity activity were major drivers of M&A in the first half. In every deal, the importance of communicating effectively in concert with all key stakeholders—from investors to employees, regulators and customers—has been essential to success.

According to research by BCG, the global value of M&A activity in the first half of 2024 was $1.0 trillion—4% higher than the same period last year, but well below the 10-year average of $1.5 trillion.

Activism Declines

While M&A activity increased slightly, there was a small decline in investor activism, according to Bloomberg’s Activism Review, which reports 428 new activist campaigns in the first half of 2024, versus 430 campaigns in the first half last year. In the US, the number of campaigns decreased 10% from 197 to 177 year-over-year, while volume growth was concentrated in APAC, with campaigns up 52% from 122 to 185.

Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher was the top advisor to companies in activist situations, with 43 such assignments, ahead of FGS Global (23 engagements), Brunswick (17), FTI Consulting (16) and Longacre Square (11).

Both Joele Frank and FGS worked with Texas Instruments on one of the largest new enagegements during the first half, with FTI representing Rio Tinto and Brunswick handling BP.

But Longacre Square continued its dominance and the leading advisor to activist funds, handling 69 suh engagements, a long way ahead of second-place PR/IR advisor Gasthalter & Co (23 deals). H/Advisors Global and Gagnier Communications each handled seven activist campaigns, with Prosek rounding out the top five (six campaigns). 

Longacre Square worked for Elliott Investment in the TI activism battle, while Prosek represented Palliser Capital against Rio Tinto.

Joele Frank Leads Bankruptcy Rankings

In addition to leading the corporate activism league table, Joele Frank was number one among bankruptcy advisors, according to The Deal.

There were 3,016 commercial chapter 11 bankruptcies filed during the first six months of 2024, a 34%increase over the 2,247 filings during the same period in 2023, according to data provided by Epiq AACER, a leading provider of US bankruptcy filing data.

Joele Frank worked on filings with total liabilities in excess of $34 billion, according to The Deal, ahead of FTI ($32 billion); C Street Advisory Group ($24 billion), Kekst CNC ($23 billion), and FGS ($21 billion).

A New Force in Europe

On first impressions, the EMEA M&A league table looks familiar: FGS leads in terms of value of deals worked, ahead of Brunswick, Headland Consultancy (up from 11 last year), Joele Frank, and FTI. In terms of deal volume, Brunswick takes the top spot with 101 deals, ahead of FGS (78). But then comes Italian powerhouse Barabino & Company (64 deals, up from 30 a year ago).

And that’s the biggest story in Europe: not only did Barabino rise from number nine to number three, but its sister firm Community was up from number 11 to number six—both firms are part of the Excellera Advisory Group, following a merger earlier this year, and together they worked on 109 assignments—which would be enough for Excellera to rank first.

Barabino worked on BlackRock’s acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners, while Community supported Ermenegildo Zegna acquisition of Tom Ford International. Says Gianfranco Piras, chairman of Excellera and partner with Xenon Private Equity: “In the first six months of the year, the European M&A landscape showed growing activity, a sign of a dynamic market and renewed investor confidence.”

Not surprisingly, Barabino and Community ranked first and second in both value of volume of deals worked in Italy, ahead of ImageBuilding (third In volume of deals).

Elsewhere on the continent, IWK was number one in Germany in terms of volume, although working mostly smaller deals the firm did not crack the top 10 in terms of value. The value league table was led by FGS, with Teneo in second place and Kekst CNC in third. Brunswick was number one in France by both volume and value of deals worked. And in Spain, Kreab led in volume, while Brunswick was tops in value. Fogel & Partners handled the most deals in the Nordics, with FGS leading in deal value.

In the UK, FGS led in terms of value, ahead of Brunswick and Headland, with Brunswick in the number one spot for volume of transactions, beating out FGS, FTI, H/Advisors, and Greenbrook Communications. In the Middle East & Africa, FGS led in value with Brunswick tops in volume.

Sodali Surges in Asia

Deal value in the Asia-Pacific region declined by 40% to an 11-year low of $117 billion, according to BCG, with marked by declines in Japan (–67%), China (–36%), South Korea (–16%), and Australia (–39%). But while the Asian market was soft, Sodali—expanding beyond its traditional proxy business to become a force in communications—enjoyed a decent first half.

Sodali was number one in terms of the volume of deald worked in the region (27 deals, excluding Japan), ahead of FGS (20 deals), Brunswick (17), FTI (16), and EverBloom Communications (11). Brunswick was tops in terms of value, ahead of Sodali and FTI. Sodali also ranked number one in terms of both value and volume in its native Australia.

In Japan, FGS ranked first in terms of the number of deals worked, ahead of FTI, Brunswick, Kekst CNC, and Prosek, while Collected Strategies was number one in value, despite handling just a single deal. In China, EverBloom led FGS and Brunswick in terms of volume, with Brunswick tops in value.


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