MWW Acquires Braben Communications

LONDON, Nov. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MWW, one of the world's top-five independent public relations firms, is to acquire Braben, a leading UK specialist communications agency for the media, technology and advertising industries.  The deal will further accelerate MWW's rapid growth in the UK market as it seeks to build the country's leading full-service, mid-sized, independent, PR agency.

Since entering the UK market last year, MWW's local presence has grown significantly to become a truly full-service public relations business. The company now offers consumer, corporate, B2B, public affairs, healthcare and technology, media and telecoms (TMT) PR. In addition, MWW offers fully integrated social media and digital communications, content creation, in-house design and research and analytics.

Braben will join MWW's existing TMT division, creating one of Europe's largest specialist practices for the TMT, marketing services and advertising sectors. Braben's senior management team, including founder Sarah Locke and Managing Director Matt Bourn, will join MWW.  Matt Bourn will become Senior Vice President, Head of the MWW European Media Practice and Sarah Locke will be MWW's Global Brand Ambassador. Braben's specialist team will join MWW's London office, bringing the company to 24 staff in total.

The acquisition will create a powerful portfolio of complementary clients, including MWW clients such as the BBC, Four Seasons Health Care, NCR, News UK and Cotton Inc alongside Braben clients including The Weather Channel,  Bauer Media, Starcom Mediavest Group and The CMA to name a few.

With 250 staff in 9 offices across the UK and US, MWW is one of the world's leading independent public relations agencies. Following its purchase of Parys Communications in November 2013, this latest acquisition is part of the company's ongoing plan to expand into the UK and Europe through organic growth and acquisition and to provide clients with a centre of excellence across key industries.

Michael Kempner, CEO of MWW, said: "Braben has a fantastic reputation in its market and a great team that know the media, advertising, and technology sectors inside and out.  When combined with our existing TMT portfolio the joint business will be amongst Europe's market leaders in these sectors.  Sarah and Matt combine great strategic vision with flawless execution and they are going to be a valuable asset to MWW as we grow into Europe.

"We're already seeing 50%+ year-on-year organic growth in our UK business and this acquisition will further accelerate our ambition to become the UK's leading mid-sized PR agency.  Our mission is to continually increase our scale and service offering so that we can provide clients with a full range of public relations and marketing communications services, combined with specialist expertise, knowledge, brilliant contacts and the flexibility to support any client's communication needs."

Sarah Locke, Global Brand Ambassador for MWW, said: "The coming together of Braben with MWW's UK TMT division will create a European centre of excellence across the media, technology, telecoms and advertising sectors.  With 25 years of expertise, knowledge and contacts between us, the division has the ability to provide clients with a complete portfolio of services to meet any communication need.  In addition, we can provide these services seamlessly across the UK, Europe and US, reflecting a growing need for many clients across these sectors.

Paddy Herridge, UK MD of MWW, said: "This deal is a clear mark of our ambitions for the UK market.  We want to build scale and service offering through strong organic growth as well as through acquisition.  The coming together of Braben and MWW's UK TMT client portfolio will create a powerhouse in the specialism, making us the agency of choice for businesses in these sectors looking for intelligent, impactful public relations."

About MWW
MWW is one of the nation's top mid-sized public relations firms and one of the five largest independent agencies. The firm is industry-recognized for its work in consumer lifestyle marketing, digital marketing and social media, corporate communications, public affairs and government relations, consumer technology, healthcare, LGBT marketing, research and insights, travel and visual branding.

MWW's approach to building and accelerating relevance for clients has been recognized over the years with top industry awards. Honors in 2014 include, the Global SABRE Award and SABRE Award for "North American Campaign of the Year", "PR Agency of the Year" by the PR News Platinum PR Awards, "PR Agency of the Year," by the International Business Awards as well as "Best Places to Work in New Jersey" by NJBiz and "Top Places to Work in PR" by PR News. For more information on the firm's capabilities and "Matter More" commitment, visit www.mww.com. Connect with MWW on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Plus and Instagram.

SOURCE MWW

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