Public affairs advisory firms Meta Advisory Group and Rud Pedersen Estonia merge

Rud Pedersen Group (RPG), Europe’s largest public relations and communications firm, has acquired a stake in Meta Advisory Group (META) and the transaction will merge META and Rud Pedersen Estonia. As a result of the transaction, META will become part of Rud Pedersen Group. The company, which operates in 13 countries, has nearly 500 employees, 75 partners and hundreds of cross-border clients.

“Rud Pedersen Group has emerged as the best public relations firm in Europe because of its ambitious management team, culture of getting things done and entrepreneurial spirit. These are the same characteristics that have enabled META to grow to the same status in its home market. Rud Pedersen’s culture and outlook match our own – a drive to succeed, transparency in relationships and a straightforward working and consulting style, a safe working environment – which enables people to work under with high responsibility and pressure and achieve results. For our clients, the transaction has clear benefits – in the Baltic business region and the three capitals alone, we are now one team of a hundred consultants and experts supporting our clients across the entire communications spectrum – from government relations to reputation management, from brand and digital communications to crisis communications,” said Andreas Kaju, Managing Partner at META.

Morten Rud Pedersen, founder and chairman of the board of Rud Pedersen Group, saw the deal as an opportunity to take a market-leading position across the Baltic region.

“We warmly welcome new colleagues to our group! We have now managed to bring together the market leaders of the Baltic States into one team and this is the kind of competitive advantage we want to offer our customers across Europe. META’s approach to advising its customers on both policy-making and public communication is straightforward, pragmatic and transparent in its relations with each other and with society. This fits very well with the Nordic heritage and culture of our group. Together, we are doing great things for Estonian and international businesses!” says the Group President.

Kairi Uustulnd, until now head of Rud Pedersen Estonia, will take over as head of META’s government relations team. Ann Hiiemaa will continue to lead the marketing communications team and Rainer Laurits will continue to lead the reputation team. Ott Lumi will take on the role of Special Adviser for Government Relations, where he will continue to lead several of META’s strategic projects.

“At Rud Pedersen Estonia, we have so far focused purely on government relations. It has been a very natural development for us, that by strategically expanding our services, we have chosen the best experts on the market not only based on their skills but also on the basis of their entrepreneurial culture. The merger with the Meta Advisory team expands the value proposition for the clients of both companies – in the synergy of two strong teams, we will continue to offer both local expertise and international experience,” says Kairi Uustulnd.

The company shall continue to operate as Meta Advisory Group in Estonia.

Meta Advisory Group (META) is part of the Rud Pedersen Group (RPG). META is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, and its three teams – Government Relations, Marketing Communications and Reputation Management – advise Estonian and international business organisations, non-profit organisations as well as Estonian public sector projects across the entire spectrum of public relations and communications services. Founded in 2003, RPG is headquartered in Stockholm and has almost 500 consultants and 75 partners working in 13 markets around the Baltic Sea and Europe.