Gorkana, the digital PR jobs and media industry information company, has been sold to rival Cision in a deal thought to be worth as much as £200m.
Cision, which is owned by US private equity firm GTCR, recently closed a $447m (£278m) deal to buy Vocus, creating a giant in the software for the PR sector.
The Gorkana brand will be retained and chief executive Jeremy Thompson will join Cision as managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“The future of PR is here,” said Peter Granat, chief executive of Cision. “Our acquisition of Gorkana is the next step toward achieving Cision’s mission to be a global leader in PR and social software.”
Gorkana was bought by private equity group Exponent, which also owns BBC magazines publisher Immediate Media, in 2010 for about £25m.
The company made adjusted earnings of about £15m-£16m in its most recent financial year and had been looking to sell for about £200m.
DC Advisory ran the sales process on behalf of Exponent.
“Cision shares our commitment to providing the best possible service to PR professionals, journalists and members of the media,” said Thompson. “Joining forces allows us to better serve our existing customers while also enhancing our ability to rapidly expand into new international markets.”
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