Joele Frank was the #1 PR advisory firm for both M&A and bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2020, according to The Deal’s latest Power Rankings. In addition, Joele Frank ranked as the #2 PR advisory firm for private equity and out-of-court restructurings. Joele Frank is proud to continue our industry-leading work on behalf of our clients, especially as they communicate with and protect stakeholders during a time of extreme uncertainty and market volatility. To learn more about our efforts during the COVID-19 crisis, please visit https://joelefrank.com/covid-19/.

Sharon Stern, a Partner at Joele Frank, participated alongside banking and legal experts in The Conference Board’s February 25, 2020 webcast, “Shareholder Activism: A Look Ahead.” During the conversation, she shared communications perspectives on trends ranging from M&A-related activism to ESG to the convergence of traditional long shareholders and activist investors.

Joele Frank was named the top global shareholder activism defense IR advisor in Bloomberg’s 2019 Global Activism Market Review, which publishes league tables ranking the leading financial, legal, IR and proxy solicitor advisors in the global shareholder activism market. Joele Frank, which defends companies and does not represent activist investors, was also recognized as the top activism IR advisor across a number of other categories, including:

• Total Number of Engagements;
• Engagements for U.S. Companies;
• Engagements for Companies with Market Capitalizations Greater than $1 Billion;
• Engagements by Aggregate Market Capitalization; and
• Engagements by Aggregate Activist Stake Value.

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Jonathan Keehner and John Roe, Partners at Joele Frank, were recently featured on Nareit’s “REIT Report” – a leading podcast covering the latest news and developments in REITs and real estate investment – to discuss the many ways in which REITs can better communicate and attract generalist investors. On the podcast, Jon, who helps lead Joele Frank’s Real Estate and Private Equity practices, shares his perspective on how a renewed and creative approach to IR is precisely what REITs need to engage their existing investor base and attract non-industry specific investors. John, an established expert in corporate governance and executive compensation, noted that REITs have done a “great job” in recent years to overcome institutional investor nervousness from a governance perspective. He highlighted the increasing importance that ESG factors play in the investment decisions for the world’s leading institutional investors, particularly as assets continue to move into index or passive fund strategies. Other topics covered in the edition include best practices for engaging with index funds, shareholder activism and ways for smaller market cap companies to engage with their top shareholders. Listen here.

For the sixth consecutive year, Joele Frank was named as one of the most powerful PR firms in New York by The Observer. The Observer’s PR Power 50 list recognizes the 50 most influential and impactful national PR firms of 2019. The Observer highlighted Joele Frank’s leadership in M&A and shareholder activism, citing the firm’s recent work on Raytheon’s pending $86 billion merger with United Technologies; Bristol-Myers Squibb’s pending $74 billion acquisition of Celgene; and Salesforce’s $16 billion acquisition of Tableau, as well as the firm’s activism defense work for Papa John’s, Pernod Ricard, Gannett, Brookdale and L Brands.

Joele Frank was named Communications Firm of the Year by The M&A Advisor in its 14^th Annual Turnaround Awards. This is the third time the firm has won this prestigious award, which recognizes outstanding advisors in the financial restructuring and reorganization industry. Winners are selected by an independent committee of business leaders in the M&A, restructuring and reorganization fields.