Effective communications enable
organizations to achieve business goals.
C L IC K B E L OW T O GO DIR E C T :
About Us.......................................................................................2
Our Approach................................................................................3
Investor Relations & Shareholder Activism..................................4
Transaction Communications.......................................................5
Initial Public Offerings..................................................................6
Corporate & Financial Public Relations........................................7
Crisis Management.......................................................................8
Corporate Restructurings & Bankruptcy.......................................9
AMO Global Network.................................................................10
Contact Us...................................................................................11
We help our clients attract investors, complete
transactions, resolve crises, prevail
on public issues, retain customers and motivate
employees. We offer our clients
diverse and pertinent experience, relationships
that matter and ideas that work.
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
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1
The Abernathy MacGregor Group is one of a very small group
of high-end corporate, strategic, and financial communications
consultancies. We are differentiated from our peers by the breadth
and depth of the services we offer to clients, by our problem-solving
approach, and by the global reach of our international network.
About Us
We serve our clients in six broad
areas:
1. Investor Relations &
Shareholder Activism
2. Transaction Communications
3. Initial Public Offerings
4. Corporate and Financial
Public Relations
5. Crisis Management
6. Corporate Restructurings and
Bankruptcy
We are consistently ranked as a
leader within these sectors.
Most of our clients are publicly-­
owned corporations, both US-based
and international. We also advise
private businesses, individuals and
nonprofits. When a client engages
us to work in any of our primary
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
practice areas, our experience in
the others enriches the advice and
results we deliver.
AMO, our international network,
was formed to ­connect us with the
agencies most like us in the financial centers of the world. We now
comprise 10 agencies in 21 cities
on four continents. These established relationships have become
essential as the global dimension of
business activity has grown. Ours is
a flexible network: We work outside
our network regularly when special expertise is needed in specific
countries.
Abernathy MacGregor is based
in New York, with offices in Los
Angeles, San Francisco and
Houston. We were founded in
1984, and are today part of Havas
Worldwide. We number approximately 80 professionals. They are
all accomplished in the disciplines
of communication; they also bring
to us expertise in law, finance,
strategic planning, traditional and
digital media, electoral and regulatory politics, investment banking
and internal communications, all
available to clients as needed.
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2
Our Approach
1
Good communications
­support business goals
Our first question is always “what
is the business goal?” Then comes
“how can communications help?”
We help to build awareness, win
approval, foster advocacy and
take action.
2
Short. Simple. Memorable
People don’t remember much
in the best of times. Today they’re
drowning in every kind of conventional and digital media clutter. Two
or three clear, well-targeted messages will be best remembered.
3
Talk first to whoever’s
affected most
If it’s good news, the beneficiaries
will become your advocates. If
it’s bad news, the victims’ voices
will be sought out. Pick the most
important audience. Reach them
quickly and directly.
4
Infinite channel choice,
finite credibility
Mobile and web-based
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
communications allow everyone
to connect with everyone else. To
whom should I pay attention? In
whom can I trust? We select for
credibility above all.
5
One size does not fit all
Even something we’ve done
many times before needs new
research, new analysis, lots of
client conversation before a plan is
launched. Good plans have to be
custom-tailored.
6
To inform: Use documents.
To persuade: Get personal
Information is best conveyed by
words, numbers, images on paper
or the digital equivalent. Persuasion
happens best one-on-one,
face-to-face.
7
Everything leaks
Whether taking the initiative
or controlling the fallout, we bring
new tools and strategies into play
to ensure a favorable outcome for
our clients.
8
Mistakes now live forever
Cell phone cameras record
everything. Databases retain
everything. Search engines find
everything. Bad events will always
happen. New communications
approaches can address new
media.
9
If it’s going public, get there
first
Whatever is said first about any
topic creates the frame through
which people receive what’s
said later. If something is going
public, and going big, good news or
bad, the first-mover advantage
is overwhelming.
10
Silence is sometimes
golden
News coverage peters out without
fresh fuel. Social media eruptions
quickly fade. When high profile is
needed, go for it. When low profile
is preferable, minimal communication works best.
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3
INVESTOR RELATIONS
& SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Investor relations was our founding discipline. Today, it informs all of
our practice areas. We advise clients on best practices across the full
range of investor-relevant communication.
Messaging
Investors need a simple ­narrative
telling how a company will c­ reate
value for its investors – and
how that value will be deployed.
Milestones, time frames, orders
of magnitude and degrees of risk
support the narrative. We help
create narratives that best reflect
a company’s potential.
Tools and materials
The website is an essential tool.
So is the face-to-face conversation. In between there are reports,
regulatory filings, media coverage,
meetings, presentations, site visits,
blogs, apps, tweets and more. We
help companies build the right
toolkits for their specific situations,
and then advise on how to use the
tools effectively.
Targeting and outreach
Investor relations professionals
need to be constantly cultivating
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
new investors. New prospects are
easier to reach but often flooded
with competing messages. We help
clients to adopt messages and tactics that break through the clutter to
make a good first impression.
Guidance and compliance
Investors increasingly demand
information from companies
about their expectations for future
performance. Each new regulatory constraint defines what can
(or must) be said, when, how and
to whom. We help companies
provide useful information within
today’s economic and regulatory
environment.
Event management
Investor relations take place both
in individual communications and
in events: road shows, investor
conferences, annual meetings,
webcasts, conference calls,
and more. We help clients with
whatever logistical support and
on-site management the events
may require.
Attitudinal surveys
Good investor relations executives
continually assess investor thinking.
We conduct surveys large and small
for IR departments, for corporate
managements, and for their boards
of directors.
Shareholder activism
Activist investors increasingly
challenge companies and agitate
for change. We help companies to
prepare for possible activist situations, to engage constructively with
declared activists and to maximize
their chances of success if activists
resort to proxy contests.
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4
TRANSACTION
COMMUNICATIONS
Major transactions are transformational for their participants and
their outcome depends on how key constituencies interpret what’s
happening. We help clients to win the support they need.
Friendly mergers and acquisitions
Our firm has worked on nine
hundred transactions in 10 years,
including some of the biggest
and most complex. We work with
buyers, sellers, bankers, lawyers,
managements, and boards of
directors. We address the needs of
investors and lenders, employees,
customers and vendors, regulators
and communities.
Proxy contests
Contested shareholder votes today
challenge a company’s independence, leadership, strategy and
policies. Activist investor initiatives
and governance disputes can cast
boards of directors and managements in an uncomfortable glare.
We have deep experience counseling them and working closely with
their other advisors.
Private equity
We have worked with most of
the world’s major private equity
firms. We modify our approach
for the time frames and business
strategies characteristic of private
equity acquisitions. We support the
acquired companies during their
portfolio tenure, and take an active
role when they go back out through
IPOs or sale to permanent owners.
Hostile and unsolicited
transactions
Acquirers can prepare their campaigns. Targets must react instantly.
We work with both, in the preparation and contingency planning
stages, then in the back-and-forth
as decisions are made. When hostilities commence, clients value our
counsel, media credibility, market
insight and regulatory awareness.
Cross-border transactions
Friendly or hostile, these often
involve at least two languages, two
cultures, two currencies, two legal
systems, two regulatory frameworks. We offer unique international
capability, thanks to our international affiliation, AMO. Partnering
with them, we offer seamless
execution and communications
clarity in the complex cross-border
environment.
Media
Two dozen M&A reporters shape
perceptions of most transactions.
We have deep relations with them
all. There are hundreds of bloggers
and tweeters. We’ve had success
with them when needed. We spend
long hours with all media. When
we can’t give them what they want,
we can help them to be accurate.
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
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5
INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS
Companies that go public need not only to complete their initial offering
successfully, but also begin their new public life favorably in the eyes of
all their new audiences. We help with both missions.
Private company visibility
An IPO is one of a range of possible business alternatives, with a
merger/acquisition transaction or
private equity investment as other
common outcomes. We work with
private companies and their owners
to identify, develop and implement appropriate levels of visibility
targeted to their most important
business and financial audiences;
and to develop communications
policies and practices suitable for
their future needs.
Public-company readiness
When a client decides to go public,
we work with other advisors on a
“gap analysis” of necessary transitional actions to achieve required
or conventional public company
functionality. We help clients to
establish communications policies and protocols, build investor
relations infrastructure (including
personnel recruitment), create
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
external relationships, raise or modify public profiles, and develop and
road-test corporate messaging.
IPO marketing
The run-up from filing to offering
is a busy “quiet period.” We assist
the client with media relations,
internal communications and staff
development. We support clients
and their investment b
­ ankers in
the marketing effort: due diligence,
messaging, drafting, road-show
­presentation preparation and
­feedback. We advise as well on
initial IR and PR plans for the
­company once public.
Listing day
An IPO’s first day of trading commonly begins with a ceremonial
event at the listing exchange,
and ends with media scrutiny of
the closing. Overall visibility is
extremely high. We help companies to make the most of the
opportunity with targeted communications and events for key
audiences, and with carefully
calibrated media exposure.
Aftermarket communications
We commonly work with clients
after the IPO closes to support
the launch and implementation of
the PR and IR plans. We advise on
dealing with unexpected challenges
and opportunities. We obtain independent feedback on clients’ early
performance. And we’re at times
needed for M&A activity, crisis
management, branding and positioning, and other communications
capabilities.
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6
CORPORATE & FINANCIAL
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Communications management is a critical component of business
success. We offer principles that have passed the test of time, and
techniques that address the realities of today.
Strategic counsel
We advise managements on the
communications dimensions of
corporate strategic plans and specific business initiatives. We work
closely with internal communications teams and with external legal,
financial and marketing advisors.
We frequently play active roles in
implementing the plans we help
to shape.
Boards of directors
Board of directors’ public positioning is now part of business
strategy. Investor relations is central
to shareholder value creation.
At times, board actions require
­communications counsel separate
from management.
Litigation support
We are often engaged by clients
involved in high stakes, high-­
visibility litigation. We help clients
seeking to reassure employees,
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
customers and others potentially
affected, or to develop greater
understanding among opinion
leaders and others of the client’s
position on the issues. We are
adept at delivering useful messages
within narrow legal guidelines.
Enterprise communications
and credibility
We use a proprietary multi-factorial analysis to highlight five key
drivers of enterprise – vs. product,
or line-of-business – credibility. This
enterprise signature allows us to
derive highly-targeted and cost-­
efficient communications strategies
and tactics that correlate with
supporting higher valuations.
Management positioning
We help clients to make their
C-Suite actions in the public sphere
meaningful, their relationships
productive, their statements noteworthy, and their vulnerability well
controlled.
Media relations
We maintain a wide range of
relationships with publishers, producers, editors, reporters, bloggers
and other media figures. We offer
both strategic and situational advice
on building, managing and muting
media presence.
Hedge funds
Our award-winning hedge fund
practice is one of the oldest and
largest in the industry. These clients
use the full range of our firms’
services: marketing and branding,
transactions, crisis preparedness
and management, executive posi­­
tion­ing, investor and media relations,
and presentation training. Services
are generally designed both to support strategic business objectives
and manage reputation risk.
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7
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Crises are unexpected. They can do great harm. They can be managed.
Our approach is practical and sometimes unconventional. It has
produced remarkable results for clients and crisis victims.
Preparedness
Being ready matters. Even small
steps make a difference. We
provide clients with a full range
of crisis-prep services. We focus
on early warning, authority to act,
standby tools, constituency needs,
necessary relationships and channels of communication.
Direct Communications
Crises end when those involved
return to stability. Direct communication is most effective – through
familiar channels, stressing reassurance, getting the problem under
control, showing that you are doing
the right things. Voluntary remediation counts. So do candor and
generosity.
Key constituencies
Victims always come first. No
crisis ends until their needs are
addressed. Then employees,
customers and/or neighbors.
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
Regulators, investors and others
can also be vitally important. We
help clients quickly ascertain and
prioritize the needs of each, and
to develop a program of actions
and communications to address
these needs.
Media and social media
News media are essential to communicate warnings, instructions and
advice in crises. We devise media
strategies that hold down visibility
and circulate only the few key facts
and messages that matter.
On-site management
When situations require it, we send
small teams to crisis locations to
work directly with clients. When
reassurance and persuasion are
the goals, there’s no substitute for
personal presence.
Messaging
Good crisis messages are short.
They go directly to the audience’s
most immediate needs. Under
urgent and distracting conditions,
that’s what people hear and
remember. We prepare in-depth
analyses and position papers as
well, but withhold them until the
need is clear and the audience
is ready.
Reputation risk assessments
Federal law now requires corporate
boards of directors to consider
reputation risk. We work with managements to identify all possible
forms of risk to reputation and to
appraise their probability and their
potential severity.
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8
CORPORATE RESTRUCTURINGS
& BANKRUPTCY
Troubled companies today face new challenges that require effective
communication with multiple concerned constituencies. We have
developed approaches that work.
The new landscape
Troubled companies often need
drastic changes to lines of business, balance sheets and cost
structures. Alternatives to conventional bankruptcy now exist.
Incumbent boards can drive the
process. Private equity or other
investors can take over, via low-cost
financing. Communications help
keep things on track early on and
through the process.
The communications imperative
Corporate troubles are rarely
secrets. Customers and vendors,
employees and partners – all are
anxious about the company’s
ability to fulfill its commitments.
Communications goal: Give enough
reassurance that they don’t head
for the exits. Don’t harm credibility
by promising them what might
not happen.
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
Conventional restructuring
Some troubled companies address
their issues without investor takeover or bankruptcy proceedings. We
support clients with highly-focused
campaigns that manage headlines
and keep both hopes and fears
within realistic contexts.
Private equity restructuring
When private equity firms take
control of troubled companies, our
work with clients is heavily concentrated in the pre-filing period, when
information and reassurance are
sought by stakeholders, and cooperation is sought by principals.
Bankruptcy avoidance
Companies under severe financial
pressure may seek rescue through
M&A transactions, equity infusions or other new financing. We
help clients to reassure doubters,
combat rumors, and maintain an
atmosphere of normalcy during this
highly vulnerable period.
Conventional bankruptcy
A company’s future hangs visibly
in the balance; the participants’
interests can be very much at odds;
publicly available information fuels
endless gossip. We assist clients
to disseminate timely, accurate
information and to encourage
patience and confidence among all
stakeholders.
Re-entry communications
Emergence from bankruptcy is a
new beginning. It can involve a
marketing or rebranding campaign;
a transformational transaction;
investor relations for a new,
debt-focused investor population; refreshed relationships with
employees; reconnection programs
for vendors and customers. We’ve
helped develop and execute all of
these with our clients.
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9
AMO Global Network
The leading global network of strategic and
financial communications consultancies
Excellence in Global Financial Communications
The Abernathy MacGregor Group is a founding member of AMO – the leading global network
of strategic and financial communications consultancies. Our ‘best in class’ philosophy brings
together local market leaders with unrivaled knowledge of financial markets and cross-border
transactions in the key financial centers of Europe, Asia and the Americas.
With more than 500 professionals operating globally, AMO provides sophisticated communications counsel for M&A and capital market transactions, media relations, investor relations and
corporate crises. Described by the industry publication Holmes Report as the “leading network
for international M&A activity,” AMO consistently ranks at the top of M&A league tables of
financial PR advisers by Mergermarket.
An International Partnership Of Leading Specialists
North America
New York l Houston l Mexico City
Los Angeles l San Francisco
South America
Buenos Aires l Bogota l Quito
Lima l Rio de Janeiro
Europe
Stockholm l London l Hamburg
Berlin l Dusseldorf l Amsterdam
Frankfurt l Brussels l Paris
Bern l Zurich l Milan l Barcelona
Madrid l Lisbon
Asia
Beijing l Shanghai l Shenzen
Hong Kong l Dubai
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
www.amo-global.com
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CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT ABERNATHY MacGREGOR
New York
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Houston
277 Park Avenue
Floor 39
New York, NY 10172
T (212) 371-5999
F (212) 371-7097
E info@abmac.com
707 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 3950
Los Angeles, CA 90017
T (213) 630-6550
F (213) 489-3443
E info@abmac.com
275 Battery Street
Suite 510
San Francisco, CA 94111
T (415) 926-7961
F (415) 296-8080
E info@abmac.com
5850 San Felipe Street
Suite 500
Houston, TX 77057
T (832) 459-8720
E info@abmac.com
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
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11
visit our website: www.abmac.com