Stagwell Results Show Merger 'Is Working', Says Penn

Stagwell Group, owner of the Harris and Harris Poll brands has announced organic revenue growth of 22.8% for the third quarter, and adjusted EBITDA of $100m, up 12.4%. Revenue was $466.6m - representing reported growth of 104.6% following the MDC merger.

The group was established in 2015 by Mark Penn (pictured), co-founder of Penn Schoen Berland and subsequently a senior exec at Microsoft. It quickly bought Nielsen's entertainment research subsidiary NRG, and in January 2017 added further Nielsen assets, this time including the Harris brand and Harris Poll. Following a year of discussion the firm recently merged with marcoms conglomerate MDC Partners Inc., and the combined entity employs more than 10,000 people in more than twenty countries.

Chairman and CEO Penn says the results 'make one thing very clear: the combination is working'. He adds: 'Our growth this quarter was driven by double-digit, pro forma net revenue growth across nearly all our client offerings, including digital transformation, communications, media and data analytics. On a year-over-year basis excluding the advocacy business, pro forma organic net revenue grew 28%. With net new business of $64 million, this is a strong first quarter as a newly combined company'. CFO Frank Lanuto says the figures are 'evidence of the Company's recovery from the pandemic and transition to a new phase of overall growth'.

The firm expects full year 2021 revenue of around $2.15 bn to $2.18 bn, including c.$755m for legacy MDC for the seven-month period ended July 31st; and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of $370m to $380m, including c.$124m for the same seven month of legacy MDC.

Web site: www.stagwellglobal.com .