 | |
| Industry | Public relations |
|---|---|
| Predecessors | Finsbury, Hering Schuppener, The Glover Park Group, Sard Verbinnen & Co |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Alexander Geiser (CEO) |
| Parent | WPP plc (57.4%)[1] |
| Website | fgsglobal |
FGS Global is a public relations company formed in 2021 by the merger of Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co. It is a subsidiary of British advertising and media conglomerate WPP plc.
Finsbury was founded by Roland Rudd in 1994 as Finsbury.[2] In 2001, the firm was sold to WPP in a deal that the Financial Times estimated earned Rudd £40 million.[3][4] Rudd remained chairman of the company.[3]
In 2011, Finsbury[2] merged with Robinson Lerer & Montgomery of New York to form RLM Finsbury.[5][6] Rudd continued as chairman and Walter G. Montgomery became chief executive officer of the enlarged firm. Montgomery retired as chief executive officer in 2014 but remains a partner in the firm.
In 2012, The Times reported that Alisher Usmanov, a Russian billionaire who was about to launch one of the largest stock market listings in London for his MegaFon mobile phone company, hired RLM Finsbury which "covertly cleaned up his online image and removed details of his past" before the offering.[7] The Telegraph reported that RLM Finsbury staff anonymously "deleted details of a Soviet-era criminal conviction and freedom of speech row" and then "replaced those sections with text outlining Mr Usmanov's philanthropy and art collection."[8] According to O'Dwyer's PR, the firm publicly apologised in The Times, giving the following statement: "This was not done in the proper manner nor was this approach authorized by Mr. Usmanov. We apologize for this and it will not happen again."[9]
In 2014, RLM Finsbury rebranded to Finsbury which the firm felt would underline its global ambitions.[10]
In 2020, Finsbury developed "Finsbury's Workforce Return", a service that guided businesses in managing employees returning to the workplace after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.[11]
In January 2021, Finsbury, The Glover Park Group (GPG), and Hering Schuppener completed their merger and management buy-in of 49.99%, and became known as Finsbury Glover Hering.[12] At that stage, the company had 18 offices and almost 700 consultants worldwide. WPP remained a 50.01% investor.[13][14] Following the merger, Rudd and Carter Eskew, founder of GPG, served as co-chairs of the new firm, and Alexander Geiser, managing partner at Hering Schuppener, served as CEO.[13][15] As of October 2021, the business was worth $917 million.[1]
In December 2021, Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co. merged and rebranded as FGS Global, with Geiser appointed as CEO.[16] The agency then had 25 offices in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and over 1,000 employees.[13] In October 2022, FGS Global opened its eighth office in Europe.[17] Also in 2022, the firm ranked number one in terms of the volume and the value of mergers and acquisitions deals.[18] In January 2023, FGS Global led communication consulting in operations in Spain.[19]
In April 2023, US private equity investor KKR was reported to be in talks to buy a stake in FGS Global.[20] On April 11, it was confirmed that KKR had agreed to buy a 30% stake in FGS Global that valued the company at about $1.4 billion. As part of the deal, existing investor Golden State Capital will sell its entire stake to KKR.[21][22]
The Glover Park Group was founded in June 2001 by former White House and Democratic campaign officials Michael Feldman, Carter Eskew, Joe Lockhart and Chip Smith.[23][24] Based in Washington, D.C., the consultancy assisted companies with their legislative goals using television advertising and public relations.[25] In November 2011, Glover Park was acquired by WPP. At the time, the firm had $60 million in annual revenue.[23][26]
Sard Verbinnen & Co. was founded in 1992 by George Sard and Paul Verbinnen. The firm managed deals, investor relations, and crises. As of 2021, the company had more than 200 employees.[27]
Hering Schuppener was founded in 1995 by Ralf Hering and Bernd Schuppener and headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.[28][29] The firm assisted with capital market communication including acquisitions, mergers, and restructuring, and advised clients on crisis public relations, reputation issues, and political communication.[30][31]
