Hill & Knowlton, a leading international communications consultancy, will acquire a majority stake in the Turkish public relations consultancy Global Tanitim Halkla Iliskiler.

The company will be rebranded as Global Hill & Knowlton and will continue to serve the Turkish market in terms of both domestic blue chip clients and multinationals.

Turkish clients will benefit from access to Hill & Knowlton’s global footprint and extensive network experience while multinational clients of Hill & Knowlton will benefit from expert advice in the local marketplace provided by the country’s leading professionals, a statement said.

“Turkey represents an increasingly strategic market for us and for our clients. The time is right to make this step into a country which is certain to play an important role in the region’s wider economic development and which has shown impressive growth over the last years,” said Dave Robinson, CEO Middle East, Turkey & Africa for Hill & Knowlton.

“Global Tanitim has a very impressive reputation in the market and represented a very good fit with the Hill & Knowlton ethos and approach. We are very confident this partnership will provide significant value to our clients both current and future,” he added.

Ceyda Aydede, founder and president of Global Tanitim, said: “We are delighted to take this important step forward with such a strong partner as Hill & Knowlton. They understand the dynamics of the Turkish market as well as the opportunities for growth and our cultures are a good fit from which to develop our services and deepen our offer to both domestic and international clients.”

George Flessas, CEO of Civitas, a strategic shareholder in Global Tanitim, added: “Turkey is a market which is rapidly internationalising and realising its potential on a global stage.”

“For Global Tanitim to continue to provide value to our clients and continue to exploit growth opportunities, it is important that we internationalise too. As the world’s most international and longest established PR consultancy we are very confident that our partnership with Hill & Knowlton will significantly enhance our offer to the market and enable substantial growth in the coming years,” Flessas concluded. – TradeArabia News Service