City PR firm sells majority stake to global investment house as M&A boom continues
ANOTHER of the City’s best-known PR firms – more used to announcing transactions than being a part of
them – has become the subject of a multi-million pound deal.
Bahrain-headquartered Investcorp has taken a majority stake in SEC Newgate for around $100m (£78.7m), valuing the PR outfit at $250m (£196.8m).
SEC Newgate grew out of the merger of Italian comms firm SEC and London-based Newgate, with the combined firm also encompassing fellow City flack-shops Newington and Redleaf.
SEC Newgate now has offices in more than twenty countries across five continents. It is the latest deal
in the comms and PR space.
Earlier this year, CVC-owned giant Teneo bought Tulchan Communications in a deal worth around £65m.
And Roland Rudd-founded Finsbury, which bought US comms firm Sard Verbinnen in 2021, then sold 29 per cent of its business to private equity outfit KKR in April of this year.
SEC Newgate said the funding would help the firm with further geographic expansion “through acquisitions and greenfield developments”.
The firm delisted from the stock exchange in March 2022, adding Three Hills Capital Partners as minority shareholders.
Fiorenzo Tagliabue, who will remain CEO of SEC Newgate, stated: “We are thrilled to partner with Investcorp on this next chapter of growth given their significant expertise and track record of helping professional services businesses grow and expand internationally. Investcorp’s investment will accelerate our transformation and fuel our development strategy to achieve global leadership in corporate communications and public affairs. I would like to thank Three Hills Capital Partners for their support since our delisting and ongoing commitment to our business”.