New Delhi: US-based public relation firm WE Communications (WE) on Tuesday announced a strategic investment in Indian PR firm Avian Media, and its sister public affairs consultancy Chase. The international firm has acquired a majority stake in Avian but it is short of a complete buyout. WE Communications did not reveal the deal size, but PR industry executives estimate it around Rs100-150 crore.
As per the agreement, WE Communications’s Indian arm will merge with Avian Media and will be rebranded as Avian WE. Meanwhile, Chase will continue to operate as an independent consultancy retaining its brand name.
“We chose Avian because of its people, leadership and the work they do. Their collaborative and spirited culture is similar to ours. Avian will continue to operate as independently as before while focusing on health, technology and consumer sector along with their existing businesses,” said Melissa Waggener Zorkin, chief executive, WE Communications.
The new entity (Avian WE) will be headed by Avian Media’s founder and executive chairman Nikhil Khanna along with co-managing partner and group CEO Nitin Mantri. Other key leadership in Avian WE includes Manash Neog who will lead the public affairs subsidiary Chase and Neha Mehrotra who will run Avian WE public relation practice nationally. Carolyn Camoens will continue as WE’s senior vice-president of Southeast Asia based in Mumbai. The combined agency boasts over 160 employees.
Founded in 2004 by Nikhil Khanna, Avian Media currently has more than 150 employees across six offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. The firm offers communications services such as public relations, digital and content, corporate social responsibility and advocacy, crisis management and public affairs. It handles clients, including home rental firm Airbnb, Airbus, Bloomberg, Dell Computers, MasterCard, telecommunications company Qualcomm, Sony and travel website TripAdvisor.
“Both entities share a common entrepreneurial culture and a philosophy of working in partnership with our clients to build long-term relationships, and a culture that places great emphasis on our people. I am very excited about what we can achieve together,” said Khanna.
WE Communications India has a small India team with clients such as Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Japanese car maker Toyota, risk consulting firm Kroll Inc., The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Chinese mobile internet company Cheetah Mobile. The merged entity will have a far greater presence in the Indian market.
“With the increased scale of the combined business, we can deepen our specialist capabilities, particularly in the areas of our power sectors technology, health, and consumer and provide our team with greater development opportunities,” added Mantri.
“Acquisition is always good for growth because it is an immense opportunity to work with big global clients and business can come from anywhere. More importantly, such deals help people in the company to grow,” said Prema Sagar, founder of PR firm Genesis, which was sold to New York-US based Burson-Marsteller in 2005-06.
Amit Misra, chief executive officer at PR firm MSLGROUP India, said that a global giant like WE acquiring an Indian firm is a testimony to how well the PR industry is doing. “WE Communications had a very marginal presence in India and acquisition is the way they want to build their presence in the country. We wish them all the best,” he said.
