Finn Partners acquires Singapore-based consultancy Rice Communications

Finn Partners has acquired Rice Communications, a Singapore-based communications and PR consultancy with expertise in travel, technology, corporate and consumer PR across the Asia-Pacific region. 

The addition of Rice bolsters Finn Partners’ presence in Singapore, making the agency one of the largest PR firms in the country, the agency said in a statement.

Effective on February 28, Rice became part of the Finn APAC region, overseen by founding managing partner Howard Solomon. Solomon also leads Finn Partners’ efforts on the West Coast of the US. 

“Singapore is our headquarters office in Asia-Pacific and it is already a larger office for us, but we want to strengthen it further and also diversify the industries that we serve out of that office and for Asia Pacific overall,” Finn Partners CEO and founding partner Peter Finn said. 

Since the launch of Finn Partners in 2011, Finn said he’s been working to try to expand the agency globally, first into Europe and then Asia-Pacific. Having known of Rice for a number of years and been impressed with their work, Finn said it made sense to continue that expansion with an acquisition in the region. Asked if there were more acquisitions planned within the region to buffer markets like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea, Finn said, "We do not plan on completing any additional acquisitions in 2025. We are just starting to think about what our acquisition priorities will be for 2026 and beyond." 

With the addition of Rice, Finn Partners’ Singapore office will have about 100 people, establishing it as one of the agency’s largest offices after its headquarters in New York and its London office, Finn said. The firm has 34 offices globally. 

The deal also adds offices to Finn Partners in Thailand and Myanmar, in addition to building on the firm’s presence in Hong Kong and reinitiating the firm’s presence in the Philippines. 

Finn Partners’ APAC region accounts for 7.5% of the firm’s global revenues, according to the agency. With the addition of Rice, Finn Partners APAC will grow to a staff of nearly 250 people and $15 million in revenue.

Rice will be known as Rice, a Finn Partners Company. The long-term plan of any acquisition is to ultimately transition the agency under the Finn Partners brand, Finn said, but added that it’s not something that’ll will happen in the near future. 

Rice managing partner James Brasher has joined Finn in the same role, leading the agency’s combined Singapore office. Brasher will work to grow the firm’s reputation in the region, becoming a member of the APAC leadership team and working closely with regional leaders in Greater China, India and Malaysia, according to the firm. 

“This is a big step forward for Rice. What excites me most are the opportunities it creates for our people and clients,” Brasher said. “Becoming part of Finn Partners deepens our integrated marketing capabilities, allows us to grow in new directions and extends our network within Asia-Pacific and into North America and Europe. Best of all, our cultures align perfectly, making this a natural fit.”

Finn Partners managing partner Naeema Ismail will take on a new regional role in strategic business development and crisis communications for Asia-Pacific, focusing on expanding new business opportunities across key sectors. 

Ismail will also drive crisis communications advisory across the region, leading the development of structured crisis-training services alongside media and presentation coaching to enhance Finn’s client offerings and regional expertise, Finn Partners said in a statement.

No client conflicts are occurring as a result of the deal. There are no employee redundancies or layoffs at this point, Finn confirmed, but noted that there may be some movement among the two agencies that remains to be determined. 

There will be no layoffs on Rice’s client service staff, he added. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. 

Rice marks the first acquisition for Finn Partners since it added Paris-based arts PR firm Claudine Colin Communications to the agency last July. While the firm has previously made multiple acquisitions per year, its plan moving forward is to be more intentional, according to Finn.

“In 2020 we didn't do any acquisitions for obvious reasons. During the early part of the pandemic, everything was in question,” he said. “We did a lot of acquisitions in 2021 and 2022 in particular, a number in 2023 and we've decided that we want to really slow down our acquisitions and focus on integrating all of our different teams into being one united Finn Partners.”

The firm will likely do one acquisition a year, the CEO added, noting that the agency is focusing on integration and organic growth more than it was in earlier periods. 

Founded in 2009 by Sonya Madeira, Rice’s portfolio of clients includes Audi, consumer electronics company Bang & Olufsen, cybersecurity company Exabeam, FICO, online travel company Klook, software company UiPath and World Wildlife Fund.

Finn Partners reported a 1% revenue decrease to $195 million globally and a 3% decrease to $161 million in the U.S. in 2023, according to Campaign's sister product PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2024.