MSLGROUP

In 1980, MS&L was acquired by the Benton & Bowles, Inc. ad agency, who ended up merging with the Leo Burnett ad agency before the entire group was bought by France's Publicis Groupe, to form the world's fourth largest communications company.[4]

In October 2010, MSLGROUP acquired 20:20, an Indian public relations firm specializing in technology and social media.[5] In November, it acquired Eastwei Relations, now integrated into MSL China.[6] In December, Publicis Groupe announced a majority stake in Brazilian PR agency Andreoli MS&L to align under MSLGROUP.[7]

In 2011, MSLGROUP made four acquisitions: Taiwan-based Interactive Communications Ltd (ICL), Genedigi Group,[8] technology PR agency Schwartz Communications,[9] and Ciszewski, Poland's largest independent public relations agency.[10] Schwartz Communications was renamed Schwartz MSL.[11]

In 2012, MSLGROUP acquired two marketing firms: King Harvests and Luminous Experiential.[12] In July, CNC Communications became part of MSLGROUP after Publicis Groupe acquired it.[13]

In August 2013, Brazilian digital and social media marketing agency Espalhe joined MSLGROUP when Publicis Groupe acquired a majority stake in it.[14]

In January 2014, Publicis Groupe acquired 100% stake in Washington D.C. based Qorvis Communications to become a part of MSLGROUP.[15] In June, Publicis Consultants MARC joined MSLGROUP, the agency operates under the name Publicis Consultants MSLGROUP, as part of Publicis Groupe Sofia – the Bulgarian unit of Publicis Groupe.[16] In July, Publicis Groupe acquired UK based sustainability firm Salterbaxter, the agency operates as Salterbaxter MSLGROUP.[17] In September, Romanian PR agency, The Practice joined MSLGROUP. The agency now operates under the name MSLGROUP The Practice.[18] In October, LiveCOM Slovenia joined MSLGROUP to operate under the name LiveCOM MSLGROUP, as part of Publicis Groupe Slovenia.[19] In November, Capital MSL and Communications Networking Consulting (CNC) two communications consultancies within the MSLGROUP network merged. The new entity retained the CNC name and began operations on 1 January 2015.[20] Also in 2014, Schwartz MSL was completely absorbed into MSLGroup.[21]

In February 2015, Publicis Groupe acquired South Africa based communications agency, Epic Communications which initially began to operate as Epic MSLGROUP.[22] The agency has since dropped “Epic” from its name and now trades simply as “MSL” in South Africa.

In January 2016, MSLGROUP expanded its presence to Sri Lanka by re-branding Publicis Groupe's Sri Lankan PR agency Arc PR.[23] In March, the company acquired Vietnam based Venus Communications to operate under the MSLGROUP brand.[24] In March, Publicis Groupe announced an equity partnership with the communications arm of Nigeria-based The Troyka Group, including a total of 6 agencies: Insight Communications, The Thinkshop, All Seasons Media, Media Perspectives, The Quadrant Company, and Hotsauce.[25] In June, Philippines based communications agency Arc started operating under the MSLGROUP brand through a strategic partnership with Publicis One.[26] In November, MSLGROUP acquired Canadian PR firm North Strategic and its online video marketplace and content hub Notch Video[27] In December, the agency established its presence in Thailand through the rebranding of Arc PR under the MSLGROUP brand.[28] MSL entered the Australian market in July 2017 by acquiring New South Wales based The Herd Agency, rebranding it as Herd MSL.[29] In November 2017, the agency opened a new office in Prague by integrating Publicis' PR operations in the Czech Republic under the MSL brand.[30]

In 2016, MSLGROUP tied for fifth in the Holmes Report 250 Global Ranking of PR Firms, by revenue.[1]

Qorvis MSLGroup, amid the execution of political protesters and opponents, has been working with Saudi Arabia for more than a decade to whitewash its record on human rights.[31][32]

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