There is an interesting post by Heather Yaxley about the effect on corporate PR in the UK when private equity firms invest in a publicly listed company, effectively thereby “taking it private.”
My comment on her post (Private equity and public relations) is on her site, so I won’t reprint here. It’s similar to a comment about transparency in public relations for publicly listed corporations that I recently added to the discussion around a recent post on government PR by Michael Sommermeyer (Drudge, a Judge and an Institution’s Reputation).
Not to be missed in consideration of the role of PR in the private and public sectors is a very interesting column that Heather alluded to in her post. It’s by James Harding, Business Editor at the Times (the London one!), titled It is time private equity came out to meet its public.
While the column deals specifically with the British Venture Capital Association, it’s really a good instructive on why private equity firms — though not required to be transparent when taking a company private — really need to consider the benefits of open public relations in helping to gain “the trust of the public, the confidence of its employees and the support of politicians.” A very good read!
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21 June, 2007 at 8:43 am
Thanks for picking this up Michael – I found it very interesting and encouraging how the discussion over private equity firms had seen several serious newspaper journalists propose a positive role for strategic PR. So refreshing given the usual media battering of the profession.