News | Joele Frank

Joele Frank Recognized as #1 M&A Communications Advisor in 2020 by The Deal and Mergermarket

February 1, 2021 – Joele Frank was recognized as the #1 M&A PR advisory firm in 2020 by The Deal, marking the eighth consecutive year the firm has been honored with the top spot. The Deal rankings reflect U.S. transactions valued at $100 million or more, of which Joele Frank advised on 86, including 39 for the acquirer and 47 for the seller.

Joele Frank was separately ranked as the #1 Global M&A PR advisor (by deal value) in 2020 by Mergermarket, which considers transactions valued at $5 million or more. The firm advised on 167 transactions valued at a total of $523 billion during the year.

The firm’s recent M&A work includes representing S&P Global in its $45 billion merger with IHS Markit; AON in its $30 billion acquisition of Willis Towers Watson; Salesforce in its $28 billion acquisition of Slack; Gilead Sciences in its $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics; Bristol Myers Squibb in its $13.1 billion acquisition of MyoKardia; Concho Resources in its $9.7 billion acquisition by ConocoPhilips; and Grubhub in its $7.3 billion acquisition by Just Eat Takeaway, among others.

Joele Frank Named Top 2020 Bankruptcy Communications Advisor by The Deal

January 25, 2021 – The Deal named Joele Frank as the #1 bankruptcy communications advisor in 2020, a year that saw a 29% increase in corporate bankruptcies. The firm advised on Chapter 11 restructurings of approximately $78.3 billion in debt for companies across industries, including aviation, healthcare, oil and gas, real estate, retail and technology. This marks Joele Frank’s second consecutive year in the top spot.

The firm’s recent Chapter 11 assignments include advising Ascena Retail Group, Avianca Holdings, Denbury, Frontier Communications, J.C. Penney, Pier 1, Mallinckrodt, Oasis Petroleum, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Shiloh Industries and Skillsoft.

Arielle Rothstein Recognized as a “Rising Star” in the PR Industry by Observer

January 12, 2021 – Arielle Rothstein, a Managing Director at Joele Frank, has been named a PR “Rising Star” by Observer in its annual list recognizing “the fresh faces fueling the industry.” Since joining Joele Frank in 2013, Arielle has overseen multibillion dollar mergers, contentious shareholder activism campaigns, high-profile hostile defenses and management changes. Both inside the firm and among her clients, Arielle is known for her “exceptional judgment and calm-under-fire attitude.”

Bloomberg Recognizes Joele Frank as Top Corporate Shareholder Activism Defense Advisor in 2020

January 8, 2021 – Bloomberg recognized Joele Frank as the top corporate shareholder activism defense advisor in its 2020 Global Activism Market Review. Joele Frank advised companies on 74 activist situations and was recognized as the top activism IR advisor across a number of categories, including:

Total Number of Engagements;
Engagements for U.S. Companies;
Engagements by Aggregate Market Capitalization; and
Engagements by Aggregate Activist Stake Value.

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Joele Frank Announces New Partners

January 5, 2021 – It is with great pride and excitement that we welcome Scott Bisang, Dan Moore, Aaron Palash and Mahmoud Siddig into the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2021.

Scott, Dan, Aaron and Mahmoud have each made numerous contributions to the firm’s growth and success, and we are thrilled these four talented individuals will continue to be an integral part of Joele Frank’s future.

Matthew Sherman Honored with a Top Spot in Observer’s Inaugural PR “Power Player” Rankings

December 30, 2020 – Matthew Sherman, President and Partner of Joele Frank, was recognized as a top-10 “Power Player” in the Observer’s inaugural list of industry “superstars.” As the firm’s President, Matt represents Joele Frank’s leadership in strategic and financial communications across friendly and hostile M&A, shareholder activism defense, crisis situations, restructuring matters and ongoing investor and public relations work.

In 2020 to date, the firm has advised on approximately 155 mergers and acquisitions, 65 shareholder activist campaigns, 110 management changes and 25 in-court and out-of-court restructurings, among numerous other assignments.