MZ Group Widens Global Reach After Merger with Chinese Financial PR Firm AICC

BEIJING, HONG KONG and NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MZ Group (www.groupmz.com), a multinational company and the world's largest independent investor relations consulting firm, providing one-stop-shop financial, corporate governance, applied technology and integrated corporate communications services, today announced that its subsidiary MZCAN Ltd. (Hong Kong) has merged with Beijing Joinn Alliance Investment & Consultancy ("AICC"), a leading Chinese financial and public relations firm. The transaction marks the first ever M&A in China's financial PR industry initiated by a multinational entity. AICC was renamed MZ China (www.mz-ir.com/china) and remains under the leadership of its founder Wellson Shen.

MZ China was one of the first financial PR firms established in China. With insight and innovation, it has become an active player, offering a comprehensive suite of services that include underwriting and advisory services, investor event marketing and value management.

Wellson Shen, founder and President of MZ China, said: "In China, capital markets still lag behind developed countries in terms of maturity, and the majority of listed companies still have a limited understanding of investor relations. However, the explosive growth of IPOs has sparked more and more discussion on the subject. I've observed that, after eagerly tapping capital markets, many listed companies often overlook the quality of their information disclosure and accountability to shareholders. Through our merger with MZ Group we will bring today's most successful IR practices to China, which will help enhance the competitiveness of Chinese listed corporations in the global community."

MZ China's one-stop-shop product and service offering is unique. "No other company, either local for the A-Share market or foreign for the ADR market, will be able to match our comprehensive approach, from basic IR and PR services outsourcing to board advisory, stock surveillance and market making, and from a simple webcast to state-of-the-art integrated technologies for IR, PR, corporate secretaries and shareholders," added Wellson Shen.

"The merger makes for a great combination of entrepreneurship, expertise, products, services and geographic footprint, underpinned by a shared commitment to continuous growth and client satisfaction and the unique one-stop-shop business model at both MZ Group and MZ China. We are very enthusiastic about the vast opportunities that lie ahead, given the current and future challenges involving corporate governance, transparency, accessibility, value creation and fair disclosure that are arising in China's rapidly expanding market. A new and more international model of investor relations must play an ever more prominent role in corporations' competition for capital, especially now as we approach the creation of the International Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange," said Rodolfo Zabisky, Chairman of MZ Group.

SOURCE MZ Group