Michael Macfarlane Associates builds the conviction that sales, mergers, privatisations and private raises depend on, with M&A communications that carry a transaction to completion on the right terms.
M&A communications and transaction PR for companies, founders and boards, including proxy votes, privatisations and special situations.
Conviction Before The Process
Transactions are decided by conviction: among buyers, shareholders, boards, lenders and, for privatisations, governments and the public. Conviction has to exist before the process opens.
Michael Macfarlane Associates shapes how each audience sees the company and the deal, keeps advisers on one story and protects value through announcement, completion and the questions that follow.
Members of the team have worked on the £1.3bn sale of Virgin Active, AerCap’s US$7.6bn acquisition of ILFC and the sale of Curtis Banks.
AI Now Reads Every Deal
Within minutes of an announcement, buyers, boards, proxy advisers, journalists and regulators ask AI systems what a transaction means. Their answers shape sentiment before most people have read the release.
Capital Outcomes starts with a Reputation Intelligence baseline of how the major AI systems see each party, then builds the transaction narrative across media, owned content and the information environment AI draws on, so momentum carries through to completion.
Read more about Reputation Intelligence.
Transaction Momentum
Momentum built before announcement carries the transaction through to completion.
Sales, Mergers And Private Raises
For Unbabel, the venture-backed artificial intelligence company, members of the team led corporate positioning, executive visibility and international media engagement in the period before its acquisition by TransPerfect in 2025.
Sales And Mergers
Positioning for a sale or merger, so buyers and shareholders understand the value on offer.
Private Raises
The investment case and profile that bring the right investors to a private round.
Announcement And Leaks
Announcement strategy and leak management, coordinated with the banks and lawyers.
After Completion
Integration communications and the standing of the combined business.
Building The Case For Privatisation
Privatisations are won with the public and politicians as much as with investors. For airBaltic, global communications, investor relations and social strategy built the case for the airline in the face of public concern and political opposition.
Proxy Votes, Activism And Contested Deals
For a leading food delivery platform in Hong Kong, members of the team advised senior management on reactive messaging and engagement with policymakers during an antitrust investigation, and on a proactive response when a competitor claimed to have overtaken it in market share.
Proxy Votes
Shareholder outreach when proxy advisers oppose the board, as for Curtis Banks, whose M&A strategy won sufficient investor support against proxy adviser advice.
Activism
Preparation for and response to activist investors, and the discreet profiling of investors themselves.
Contested Transactions
Where a deal turns contentious, coordination with the firm’s Pre-Legal Counsel capability.
Transactions Delivered
Sales, acquisitions, fundraisings, privatisations and proxy votes where members of the team built the case.
| Client | Mandate | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin Active | Sale to Brait | £1.3bn sale |
| AerCap | Investor marketing on the ILFC acquisition | US$7.6bn deal |
| Curtis Banks | Sale to Nucleus | £240m sale |
| Curtis Banks | Shareholder outreach on an M&A strategy | Proxy vote won against proxy adviser advice |
| BOSQAR | Debt and equity fundraising | About €350m raised |
| airBaltic | Privatisation communications, investor relations and social strategy | The case for the airline built |
| Blackmoor | Discreet profiling of an activist investor | Profile built with discretion |
| Unbabel | Corporate positioning and CEO visibility ahead of its acquisition by TransPerfect | International profile built before the sale |
| Leading US technology company | Investor relations on acquisitions of and joint ventures with seven Indian SMEs | Transactions positioned; hostile situations contained |
| Leading food delivery platform | Issues and public affairs counsel during an antitrust investigation in Hong Kong | Balanced narrative held under regulatory pressure |
Capital outcomes delivered by members of the Michael Macfarlane Associates team. Some identifying information has been amended to protect confidentiality.
Why Reputation Is The New Capital
Michael Macfarlane, Principal Partner, on why reputation has become a form of capital in a world of omnipresent artificial intelligence.
Senior Judgement, Platform Native Talent
Senior reputation advisers who have worked at the highest levels of capital, communications, journalism and diplomacy, led by Mark Walter, Partner and Head of Capital Outcomes.
Mark Walter
Anna Kredisova
Joe Wallen
Farah PashaQuestions
What is M&A communications?
The communications that position a company and a transaction with buyers, shareholders, lenders, employees, regulators and the media, from preparation through announcement to completion.
When should a company appoint transaction advisers?
Before the process opens. Conviction among buyers and shareholders takes time to build, and the strongest positions are prepared before announcement.
What is proxy solicitation and when is it needed?
Proxy solicitation means securing shareholder votes for a resolution. It is needed when a vote is contested, for example when proxy advisers recommend against the board.
How are leaks managed during a sale?
With a prepared holding position, a clear protocol agreed with the banks and lawyers, and monitoring that detects early signs of a leak.
How can a board win a vote that proxy advisers oppose?
By engaging the shareholders who decide directly, with a clear case for the strategy, before the vote. Curtis Banks secured sufficient support this way against proxy adviser advice.
How is support for a privatisation built?
By making the case to the public, politicians and investors at once, through media, investor relations and social platforms, as for airBaltic.
Explore Capital Outcomes
Capital Outcomes
Reputation advisers for listings, transactions and fundraising, across the world’s major power centres.
Explore02Secondary Listings And IPOs
For Asia-listed companies preparing a London or US listing, and companies preparing an IPO: investor familiarity built early, so the listing delivers valuation, demand and aftermarket support.
Explore03Investor Relations And Valuation
For listed companies trading below their worth: equity stories, capital markets days, share register work and disclosure that close valuation gaps.
Explore04Private Capital, Funds And Sovereign Wealth
For VC and private equity firms raising funds and building portfolio value, companies seeking family office or sovereign capital, and sovereign funds themselves.
ExploreSpeak To Us In Confidence
Capital Outcomes clients retain Michael Macfarlane Associates privately, ahead of a listing or transaction, through the process and its aftermath, or as a standing adviser to the board. Every relationship begins with a confidential conversation with Mark Walter or a partner.