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CHICAGO, Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR announced today that its portfolio company Cision, a leading provider of media intelligence tools to public relations ("PR") professionals, has signed an agreement to acquire PR Newswire ("PRN").
PRN is a global leader in PR and investor relations ("IR") communications, connecting over 30,000 customers to their target audiences through the largest global distribution network of its kind. Customers spanning Fortune 2000 multinationals, public relations agencies, small businesses and government entities rely on PRN to target, reach and engage the most relevant media outlets and audiences with impactful and timely content.
GTCR, a leading Chicago-based private equity firm, partnered with Peter Granat and Jack Pearlstein in 2014 to build a company focused on serving the evolving needs of PR professionals across the dynamic corporate communications environment. PRN is Cision's fifth acquisition following GTCR's investment and further establishes Cision as a platform of choice for PR and communications professionals. The combination of Cision's media intelligence tools and PRN's worldwide distribution network will make it easier for customers to tell their story to the right audience and track the effectiveness of media outreach efforts.
"The addition of PR Newswire underscores GTCR's commitment to technology investment and strengthens Cision's ability to maintain a leading communications and social software platform," said Cision CEO Peter Granat.
"PRN and Cision possess complementary capabilities that provide a unique opportunity to redefine public relations workflow when deployed together," said Mark Anderson, Managing Director at GTCR. "This is an exciting acquisition for Cision and one that we have been pursuing for some time. We continue to be impressed by the quality of companies that want to join Cision in our mission to create a more valuable solution suite for our customers."
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Barclays and RBC Capital Markets are providing debt financing to Cision. The transaction, which requires approval by the shareholders of UBM plc as well as regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2016.
About Cision
Cision is a leading global media intelligence company, serving the complete workflow of today's PR and communication professionals. Offering the industry's most comprehensive PR and social media software, rich analytics and a Global Insights team, Cision enables communicators to improve their marketing and strengthen datadriven decision making. Cision also represents the Gorkana Group, PRWeb, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and iContact brands. Headquartered in Chicago, Cision has over 100,000 customers worldwide and maintains offices in Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Finland and China. For more information, visit www.cision.com or follow @Cision on Twitter.
About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Growth Business Services industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ - finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $12 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com.
Cision Contact:
Heather Whaling
614.364.2888
heather@gebencomm.com
GTCR Contact:
Eileen Rochford
312.953.3305
eileenr@theharbingergroup.com
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