31 Mar 2018
Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, today announced an investment in ICR (or “the Company”), a leading strategic communications and advisory firm. Investcorp is partnering with ICR, whose senior team will retain a significant ownership stake in the Company. The new partnership will focus on accelerating the Company’s organic growth, identifying complementary acquisitions and expanding the business globally.
Founded in 1998, ICR helps companies manage credibility and reputational risk to optimize shareholder value. Ranked as a top 5 independent communications firm in 2018 by O’Dwyer’s, ICR specializes in investor relations, public relations, crisis and special situations communications, digital/social media, and capital advisory solutions. The firm has 186 team members and works with more than 550 clients across its five offices in the US and China.
David Tayeh, Head of Corporate Investment North America at Investcorp, stated, “ICR is perfectly positioned to broaden its service offerings to meet the growing needs of current and prospective clients. With its deep industry knowledge across more than twenty sectors and its differentiated pairing of capital markets and communications professionals, we believe that ICR truly understands how communications strategies align behind business goals and how those goals tie back to the value of the enterprise. This represents a strong and exceptional foundation and we’re excited to partner with management to drive the next stage of growth and success.”
Tom Ryan, Co-Founder & CEO of ICR, stated, “For the past 20 years, we have successfully grown our business by creating true partnerships with our clients and advising them when the stakes are the highest. In today’s world, this is becoming even more important given the adverse consequences associated with poor stakeholder communications. That said, this environment has created new opportunities for ICR to expand its services and reach as well as elevate the standards of client engagement. We are thrilled to partner with Investcorp on these efforts, which in turn, will help us better serve our clients and the dynamic challenges they face each day.”
William Blair & Company served as the exclusive financial advisor to ICR and its stockholders.