What India's First Public Relations IPO Means for the Industry: Value 360's Kunal Kishore on the PRmoment India Podcast

Earlier this month, Value 360 Communications announced that it had successfully closed its pre-IPO investment round and is transitioning towards becoming India’s first publicly listed PR firm. The last 

Consolidation in the Indian PR Landscape

  Genesis PR was bought by Burson Marsteller in 2005, Hanmer and Partners sold to MSL in 2007, Cohn & Wolfe bought 6 Degrees PR in 2015 and WE bought Avian WE in 2018. In 2005 Edelman purchased a 50% stake in Roger Pereira's R&PM, and 2011 was a landmark year for Sampark Public Relations when it tied the knot with Europe’s global PR behemoth Ketchum Pleon. In 2023, PR Pundit sold to Havas Red.

As is evident from above, in the last decade, acquisitions of Indian PR firms by global network PR firms have slowed down.

Which is why mid-sized independent Indian PR firms are seeking local investment.

Integrated PR firm Kaizzen, led by Vineet Handa, secured funding from Maven Corporate Advisors in 2023.  And in 2024, The PRactice announced a strategic investment from Zach James and Rishi Seth, senior public relations, and communications advisors. 

Now, Value 360 has chosen the IPO route to raise not more than 5 million from pre and post IPO rounds, a first for the PR business in India. Use LINKEDIN2025 to Book Your Spot for Webinar on LinkedIn as a Strategic PR Channel

 Speakers include Harry Singh (LinkedIn India),  Sandeep Kumar (Epsilon Carbon), Karthik Srinivasan (Communications Consultant) and  Tarunjeet Rattan (Nucleus PR) 

Here are the main points discussed:

At 3 Minutes : Rationale for the SME IPO

Kunal says, "I am very confident that going the SME IPO route will allow many independent PR firms to identify this as an opportunity to accelerate their growth."

At 4 Minutes: Financial Discipline and Profitability

The IPO process has forced Value360 to optimize its profitability, implement financial discipline, and put processes in place to prevent financial losses

At 11 Minutes: Use of Funds Raised:

• Cautious Approach: Value360 is taking a cautious approach to the amount of capital raised, prioritising effective deployment over sheer volume. "We do not want to actually raise a large chunk of money because deployment in a service industry, you cannot possibly raise the money and put it in the bank." The target raise is around $5 million (pre- and post-IPO).

At 14 Minutes Industry Implications

• Breaking the Mould: The IPO represents a new route for independent PR firms, traditionally reliant on acquisitions or private investment for growth. "From our perspective, as we see from where we look at, we are identifying uh this as a new way or start uh for independent founders to look at coming uh into mainstream."
• Advertising Sector Precedent: Crayons and RK Swami as a successful example of a listed company in the advertising space.
• Responsibility to the Industry: Value360 recognises the responsibility to perform well and set a positive example for other PR firms considering this route. 
• Says Kunal, "It's a responsibility also because how we perform in the market for the investors will set up the roadmap for the rest of the PR firms."