One of the industry’s most prominent stand-alone public-relations firms is being scooped up by an operator that wants to compete on a bigger playing field.
Acceleration Community of Companies, a group of marketing-services firms led by industry veteran Michael Nyman, will take a majority stake in DKC, the public-relations agency once known as Dan Klores Communications and that is recognized for its scrappy corporate demeanor. Acceleration and its majority shareholder, Solace Capital, have brought on New York growth equity firm, Verance Capital, as a strategic investor to support ACC’s next phase of growth.
The deal is effective immediately. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Acquisition of DKC will lend Acceleration a greater presence in such areas as crisis communication and sports representation, says Sean Cassidy, who will take the title of CEO of DKC. “I think we become a real powerhouse in L.A. really quickly,” he says.
Longtime industry players will likely know Nyman from his time at PMK BNC, the storied agency that represents many celebrities. Previously, Nyman helped oversee the brand-publicity firm known as Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, which merged with PMK in 2009 under the auspices of ad-industry holding giant Interpublic Group. Nyman, who left Interpublic in 2018, sees Acceleration as a collection of different marketing firms that aren’t forced to compete with each other to provide services to clients and can instead create bespoke business models.
“We have a lot of wonderful brands that offer specialized services that are complementary, not competitive. It’s a wheel and if you are a client, you reside at the center,” Nyman said. Among the companies Acceleration has bought in recent years are Trailblaze, a specialist in marketing challenger and upstart brands, and Pink Sparrow, a specialist in design.
“We don’t have a bunch of redundant agencies. I like the portfolio of companies that they own,” says Cassidy. “They complement us tremendously and we bring a huge strategic footprint that is very valuable to the company.”
The two executives said the companies have very little overlap when it comes to clients. DKC’s roster includes Airbnb, Citi, the NBA, Dyson, Etsy and BMW. Acceleration’s companies do work for Google, Meta, Pepsi, Netflix, Stanley, T-Mobile and Target, among others.
The addition of Verance may also help boost Acceleration’s trajectory. The firm is known for its investment in both sports and entertainment properties, including Meadowlark, the sports-media company led by former ESPN chief John Skipper; Range Media, an upstart talent-management firm; and Wave Sports + Entertainment, the company behind the popular podcast led by football brothers Jason and Travis Kelce.
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