By Michiel Willems
City A.M. can reveal this morning that six London firms have agreed to merge into a new stakeholder solutions entity that is backed by Falfurrias Capital Partners.
The relatively unusual merger, given that six separate firms agreed to combine, involves Ballast Research, Hamilton Place Strategies, Flag Media Analytics, alva, Gotham Research Group, and Decode_M.
The firms confirmed they have officially rebranded and launched as Penta, a stakeholder solutions firm combining intelligence and strategy capabilities.
Penta is backed by a majority investment by Falfurrias Capital Partners.
Penta will work with clients to define, inform, and strengthen decision-making and understanding between business leaders and their stakeholders.
Post-merger, the combination employs around 200 people in London, New York City, Washington and San Francisco.
It is likely more agencies or units will be added, as Falfurrias Capital Partners is looking to make more acquisitions for Penta so it “can expand the firm’s global reach,” the company told this paper.
Leadership
Penta will be led by President Matt McDonald, previously a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies for over a decade.
The company’s leadership will also include Senior Partners Tony Fratto, Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela, and Mike Berland, as well as Kevin Madden, who is returning to the firm after three years as executive vice president at Arnold Ventures.
Mike Gottlieb will continue in his current role as President of Ballast Research within Penta. Beth Comstock and Alex Jutkowitz will serve as board advisors to the newly combined entity.
McDonalds said “it is time to meet the moment with a purpose-built firm that offers intelligence to inform stakeholder strategy and engagement.”
“There is a growing recognition among the C-Suite of the significant impact that stakeholders have on the business and its ability to create value.”
“By combining the most advanced intelligence tools with premium advisory capabilities, Penta will work with clients to help understand, predict and mitigate the impact of stakeholder issues, as well as enabling understanding between business leaders and their stakeholders,” he explained.
The integration of the firms into Penta will be complete by the end of year following the conclusion of Ballast Research’s current research cycle, the firm said.
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