French private equity firm MBO & Co today has sold its 30% stake in LLYC (LLORENTE & CUENCA SL – communications and public affairs consultancy) to the firm’s partners.
Since MBO & Co joined as a shareholder in 2015, LLYC has pursued a growth strategy, combining organic development with high value-added acquisitions, which has enabled it to consolidate its position as the leading player in its sector in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking market (Spain and Latin America) and to enter the top 50 worldwide rankings prepared by PRWeek and PRovoke,
In this period, LLYC’s revenues have doubled with an average annual growth of 18%, from €20.7m in 2014 to €44.3m in 2020, while its team has grown to 600 professionals worldwide. In line with its strategy of selective acquisitions, the company completed the integration of Impossible Tellers (Spain, 2015), S/A Comunicaçao (Brazil, 2015), EDF (USA, 2015), Arenalia (Spain, 2018), Diplolicy (Spain, 2020) and Factor C (Chile, 2020), adding talent and specialist know-how in high value-added segments to its pipeline, while consolidating its position in key markets.
Richard Broche, Partner at MBO & Co, said: “We are very satisfied with the partnership we entered into with LLYC five years ago and we now leave having met our investment objectives. In this time, LLYC has successfully completed an ambitious growth plan that has established it as a comprehensive provider in the communications and public affairs consulting sector, with specialist teams in multiple areas, as well as technological capabilities and geographic leadership in Iberia and the Americas, a region that represents 52% of the business. We wish LLYC the best in the new phase they are embarking on.”
José Antonio Llorente, founder and chairman of LLYC, said: “We are very grateful to MBO & Co for their trust over the years. They have been the ideal travelling companion at a time of disruption for the sector and for our clients. With their support, we have laid the foundations for a differential positioning that involves integrating digitalisation, exponential technologies and creativity into our value offer. We are embarking on a new phase with ambitious growth objectives and a strengthened position to take advantage of the opportunities that the sector presents.”
About MBO & Co
MBO & Co manage €580 million dedicated to capital investment in SMEs and intermediate-sized enterprises valued between €20 million and €100 million. The management company invests in ambitious development and transformation projects, arising from transmission operations or to strengthen the company’s capital. MBO & Co joins with committed entrepreneurs, to whom it provides strategic guidance, operational efficiency and organisational improvement, with the common goal of combining sustainable growth and long-term optimisation of value creation.
