News and Insights

Finn Partners Continues Its Rapid Growth with Two Acquisitions in Nashville, Tennessee

January 22, 2015

The two firms are Seigenthaler Public Relations and DVL Public Relations & Advertising. The two firms will combine into a new entity which will be known as DVL Seigenthaler, a Finn Partners Company.

The Nashville region’s diverse economy is on a very strong growth track and we are excited to become part of it. The city’s ascendency and its innumerable attributes have been the subject of numerous national news profiles, many of them noting its booming healthcare industry, eclectic cultural scene, rising universities, prime location and welcoming vibe. In fact, a Time magazine story entitled ‘The South’s Red-Hot Town’ articulated what data clearly demonstrate: Nashville “has had the strongest employment growth of any large metropolis since the Great Recession”.

The combined firm will be by far the largest PR agency in Nashville, and will be one of the largest in the entire Southeast region of the United States. Finn Partners will be the only global PR firm with a presence in Nashville, a market that is expanding at a rapid pace, and home to many of the nation’s largest companies. The two firms together have about $11 million in annual fees, and the combined staff will total about 80 people. Their clients include Airbus DS Communications, AMSURG, Bridgestone Americas, Inc., Brown Forman, Electronic Recyclers International, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, JM Smucker Co., LifePoint Hospitals, Inc., the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, Nashville Electric Service, Natural Resources Defense Council, Regents Financial Corp., and Singer Sewing Company.

Both DVL and Seigenthaler have terrific teams and will bring important added resources to Finn Partners. Both firms are extremely well known and respected in Nashville. The Seigenthaler family is legendary in that market. Both Ronald Roberts, the CEO of DVL, and Beth Seigenthaler Courtney, the CEO of Seigenthaler PR, serve on many boards of business, education and philanthropic organizations, and have strong relationships with the media, with business leaders and with elected officials in the greater Nashville region.

We believe that the management teams of both firms are a really good fit for the Finn Partners culture. They are very excited about joining Finn Partners, and we are excited to have them become part of our team

DVL has a strong advertising/creative/digital team that will join forces with Finn Partners Digital. All together, we will have about 50 people in our combined digital and creative services department.

With these acquisitions, the overall annualized fees for Finn Partners is about $65 million, and we will grow from 370 to about 450 employees.

With these two acquisitions Finn Partners remains one of the fastest-growing independent US-based PR agencies. We are excited by the path we are on, and look forward to continuing to strengthen our resources so that we can provide our clients with the very best services possible while at the same time offering a great work environment with a clear professional growth path for our employees.

POSTED BY: Peter Finn

Peter Finn