Everything-PR M&A: Advisory Firms for Marketing and PR
M&A advisory firms for marketing, advertising and PR are investment banks and boutique advisors that represent agencies and marketing-services companies in sales, acquisitions, mergers and capital raises. This directory profiles firms with documented transactions in those sectors, grouped by specialty. It covers firms, not individual bankers, and does not publish a numbered ranking.
What do M&A advisory firms do for marketing and PR agencies?
M&A advisory firms for marketing and PR agencies manage the sale, purchase, merger or recapitalization of agencies and marketing-services companies, from valuation through closing. The firms here work deals in advertising, public relations, communications, marketing services and media.
Some generalist banks also run dedicated marketing services teams. Houlihan Lokey's Marketing Services team is one example, and this directory includes such teams where the transaction record supports it. Entries are grouped by specialty so readers can compare firms working the same corner of the market, such as marketing services M&A or PR and communications M&A.
How are firms selected for this directory?
Firms are considered against eight criteria, and transaction evidence outweighs general reputation or overall firm size.
Criterion
What it measures
Documented transactions
Closed deals with a named buyer, seller and (where disclosed) value
Sector specialization
Share of the firm's deal flow inside advertising, PR, marketing or media, not general corporate finance
Recency of activity
At least one verifiable transaction in the trailing 24 months
Institutional depth
Named senior bankers with public deal credit, not a solo practitioner
Buy-side and sell-side experience
Evidence of representing both acquirers and targets, not one side only
Middle-market relevance
Typical deal size inside the range PR and marketing services agencies actually trade at
Geographic reach
Coverage beyond a single metro market where the firm claims national or global reach
Published industry research
Original deal commentary, market reports or valuation benchmarks the firm has put its name on
A firm must clear a majority of these criteria with documented evidence, not self-reported claims, before Everything-PR adds it to the roster. Candidate firms that did not pass that check were left out rather than published as weak entries.
Which M&A advisory firms are covered so far?
The table below lists every firm profiled or scheduled in this directory, with live profiles first and scheduled profiles in publication order.
Media and Entertainment group, advertising and marketing services
Live
SI Global
Media, marketing and technology M&A (formerly SI Partners)
October 21
LUMA Partners
Digital media and marketing M&A, AdTech and MarTech
October 26
Madison Alley
Digital marketing, media, advertising and commerce M&A
November 9
JEGI LEONIS
Media, marketing, software and technology M&A
November 19
Equiteq
Technology and consulting M&A, marketing-adjacent deals
November 24
Woodland Park Capital Advisors
Advertising, marketing, media and eCommerce M&A
December 10
Drake Star
Technology M&A with a Digital Media practice
December 16
Gould+Partners
PR agency M&A exclusively
December 30
Progress Partners
AdTech and digital marketing M&A
January 6, 2027
Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips
Media, advertising and marketing M&A (Oaklins TMT practice)
January 11, 2027
Gould+Partners is the only firm in this table built exclusively around PR agency transactions rather than marketing, media or advertising more broadly. Each firm is linked once its profile goes live.
How does a typical marketing or PR agency sale unfold?
A typical marketing or communications agency sale starts when an advisory firm prepares a confidential information memorandum. A buyer list is then built from strategic acquirers and private equity-backed platforms, first-round indications of interest narrow the field, and a small group of finalists completes management meetings and diligence before a letter of intent is signed. EPR's guide on how to sell a PR agency walks through each phase, the value drivers buyers weigh and the buyers to know.
Earnouts, where part of the price depends on revenue or EBITDA retention after closing, are a common feature of agency deals because agency revenue depends on client relationships and key people.
Does this directory rank firms numerically?
No, this directory does not rank firms numerically. Firms are organized by specialty area instead, including advertising M&A, PR and communications M&A, marketing services M&A, media M&A, and MarTech and AdTech M&A, so a larger generalist bank does not automatically outrank a smaller specialist with a deeper transaction record.
Will this directory track individual M&A deals?
Individual deals are tracked in the PR Agency M&A Tracker, which records agency acquisitions and holding-company moves. A companion transactions database, tracking specific advertising, marketing and PR deals by buyer, target, date, sector and advisor, follows once enough firm profiles are live. Where deal value is not publicly disclosed, entries will say so rather than estimate a figure.
How does this directory relate to other Everything-PR coverage?
This directory is for agency founders and executives weighing a sale, private equity professionals sourcing deals in marketing services, and communications industry readers who want to know which advisory firms work in their market. Agency owners considering a sale can start with the guide to selling a PR agency.
This directory covers middle-market transactions, typically agencies and advisory clients with enterprise values from the low single-digit millions up to several hundred million dollars. The largest holding-company mega-mergers are outside its scope.
Does the directory include generalist banks?
The directory includes a generalist bank only where it runs a dedicated marketing or media team with a documented transaction record. Houlihan Lokey's Marketing Services team is one example. Banks without a documented record in these sectors are not listed.
How often is this directory updated?
New firms are added as their profiles publish. The table above shows the firms already live and those scheduled through January 2027.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
