São Paulo: Panaquatira Participações Ltda. (PANAPAR) has signed an agreement to acquire a 73.82% controlling stake in CDN Comunicação Corporativa Ltda., one of Brazil’s most established public relations and corporate communications agencies, from Omnicom Brasil Serviços Ltda., part of the U.S.-based Omnicom Group Inc. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, and completion remains subject to approval from Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).
The transaction marks a significant cross-border M&A deal in the communications sector, bringing together one of Brazil’s leading PR agencies, the world’s largest marketing and communications group, and a Brazilian management-led investor consortium.
Legal counsel to PANAPAR was provided by Medeiros Advogados, which advised on both the acquisition of the controlling stake and the simultaneous formation of the buyer group comprising CDN CEO Fábio Santos and Brazilian advertising agency NOVA. The deal required the parallel structuring of acquisition financing, governance arrangements and shareholder agreements while safeguarding Santos’ operational autonomy and minority ownership position.
Signed on 29 June 2026, the transaction would see control of the 39-year-old communications consultancy, which employs around 150 people, transition from multinational ownership to a Brazilian-led ownership structure, with Fábio Santos continuing as Chief Executive Officer.
According to the transaction release, the negotiations spanned approximately ten months and involved synchronising two interconnected workstreams—the cross-border acquisition from Omnicom and the establishment of the Brazilian buyer group. The process addressed corporate, governance, employment and regulatory considerations across both Brazil and the United States.
The acquisition comes in the wake of Omnicom’s integration with Interpublic Group (IPG), completed in late 2025. The inclusion of NOVA, an award-winning Brazilian advertising agency, broadens the transaction beyond a traditional management buyout into a strategic partnership between CDN’s leadership and an established creative agency.
Commenting on the transaction, CDN CEO Fábio Santos credited Medeiros Advogados for guiding the negotiations and helping secure favourable terms, while lead counsel Luciano dos Santos Medeiros described the mandate as a complex dual-track transaction requiring continuous alignment between the acquisition process and the formation of the Brazilian ownership structure.
