You want to sell your PR agency? Then it's good to know what the takeover market in the PR agency field looks like. Covid-19 accelerated online marketing. With the technological developments in this field, PR experts appear to be the deciding factor in truly connecting with the target audience. And that human contact is more important than ever.
CBS does not measure the number of PR agency mergers and acquisitions. It does measure a category above that, management consulting firms.
There are many ways to value a business. A common method of expressing the value of a business is "a factor x gross annual profit." This factor is also called multiple and another designation for gross annual profit is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization).
In the media, advertising and communications sector - which includes a PR agency - an indicative EBITDA multiple range of 3.3 to 4.0 is currently used, according to the Brookz Takeover Barometer. The average EBITDA multiple across all SME sectors is 4.90.
The valuation of a business is often the starting point for negotiations between buyer and seller. The outcome of these negotiations is the final sales price. So valuation and price are two different quantities. Besides valuation, the price is also determined by possible scarcity in the market, bargaining power of the parties, the strategic value of the business for the buyer and possible synergy effects for the buyer (cost savings, purchasing advantages).
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Want to buy a business or sell a business in the Media, Advertising & Communications sector? With this Brookz Sector Monitor, we want to present buyers and sellers with facts, figures and an outlook that provide insight into the number of transactions, the value development of businesses and the latest trends and developments in Media, Advertising & Communications. Because in any buying or selling process, thorough preparation provides peace of mind, overview and structure.
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The number of PR agencies increased by 172% in recent years There are relatively many self-employed people in this sector, and therefore the number of businesses with one employed person is quite high.
Expressed in figures, the number of PR agencies in 2024 looked as follows(CBS):
With this online training from Brookz you are optimally prepared to largely sell your business yourself: 25 Powerpoint videos, a comprehensive valuation report, legal model contracts, handy templates, checklists and expert support. Plus 50% discount on listing your business on Brookz!
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A number of trends and developments will inevitably cause changes over the next few years, but also offer PR agencies many growth and acquisition opportunities:
Unlike offline PR, digitalization offers an opportunity for PR agencies to really connect with their target audience. And this is not limited to question and answer, but you can expect all kinds of responses: from compliments to collaborations with influencers, and unfortunately also negative expressions in which you as a PR agency have to pull out all the stops in no time.
Public relations is focusing more and more on people rather than events. Then we have a holistic approach that focuses on the relationship between the world around us and our impact on it. The experience of clients is carefully mapped out and and monitored in the form of a customer journey.
Technological developments are advancing at lightning speed and, as a result, automation and data collection are increasing. This allows you to gather an enormous amount of information about your target audience. And although Artificial Intelligence is expected to play a major role in content marketing, PR experts are still needed to make the human connection. Authenticity is going to distinguish between bulk and personalization in this.
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