Osborne Clarkes advises the founding shareholders of Powerscourt on its acquisition by TPG-backed Morrow Sodali

International law firm Osborne Clarke has advised the founding shareholders of leading strategic communications consultancy, Powerscourt, on its sale to Morrow Sodali, a global shareholder engagement and governance advisory company backed by TPG, as it looks to expand its European platform with ambitious plans for growth.

Osborne Clarke's team advising on the sale of Powerscourt was led by corporate partner, Ken Wilkinson, and included senior associate Rav Sagar and associate Courtney Fowler.  Private equity partner Pippa Byrne and associate Matt Mayes advised the management team on the equity elements, advising on tax matters was partner Mathew Oliver with senior associate Ben Doeh, on employee incentives was partner Anika Chandra, senior associate Stuart Rose and associate Maryam Khalifa and on employment was associate Isabel Boyce.

Powerscourt was founded in 2004 and is one of London’s pre-eminent communications firms.  Powerscourt provides specialist strategic communications and PR services, including financial and capital markets, communications, corporate campaigning, ESG and sustainability, political affairs and crisis and issues management to many of the largest companies in the UK and Ireland. The firm has 75 colleagues based in London and Dublin, advising over 170 clients, and holds a top five market position based on FTSE 100 clients.

Headquartered in New York, Morrow Sodali is majority-owned by TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity platform of TPG. With more than 450 colleagues working across 14 international offices, the company works with over 1,000 clients in more than 80 markets worldwide on  a range of critical issues including corporate governance and ESG advisory, IPO preparedness, shareholder activism, M&A services and proxy solicitation.

The acquisition of Powerscourt will provide a growth platform for Morrow Sodali to build a full-service advisory and shareholder services practice across Europe, with the financial backing of TPG. Powerscourt’s senior management team, led by founder & CEO Rory Godson and Managing Partner Victoria Palmer-Moore, will remain with the business to help build out the European platform.

David Cohen, Senior Managing Director and COO at Powerscourt, commented: “Osborne Clarke provided invaluable support to the shareholders of Powerscourt, during what was a transformational deal for the business. Led by Ken Wilkinson, they were commercial and tenacious, providing technical support from start to finish and deploying experienced project management to get the transaction to a successful conclusion.”

Osborne Clarke advises some of the best and brightest businesses across the marketing services, publishing and events sectors. It is widely recognised for its corporate expertise in these dynamic markets, and its track record advising on M&A deals across Europe North America and globally, and at every stage of company development across all corporate issues. The team is also a go-to practice for many companies in the tech, media & comms sectors, working with global businesses to fast-growth start-ups and market challengers.