CFF Communications – Behind the Scenes #13
Dear all,
As we near the end of a year like no other, we look back on the projects we have been involved in and clients we have worked for with great pride. Covid-19 continued to impact our clients, our business, and our personal lives in 2021. But we did get a chance to meet everyone in person again, and activity has bounced back for many of our clients.
Covid-19 has not stopped our business, nor our clients. Strategic initiatives were launched, innovative plans revealed, new boards installed and growth ambitions published. Capital markets showed a strong performance and we were involved in many mergers & acquisitions and plans to launch a listing on Euronext Amsterdam. Although some were halted, the pipeline for 2022 is well filled, and we look forward to another busy year.
Share our highlights of 2021 on LinkedIn
Although we are not at liberty to share everything we are involved in, we’d like to highlight a few of the projects we worked on in 2021. In our previous update, we already provided a snapshot of the NEVIR Awards, Garmin, Kwantum, InPost and CTP. In this update, you’ll learn more about our support for BNP Paribas, Neways, Fugro and the merger of PLUS and COOP.
Thank you so much for your trust in the CFF Communications team. We wish you a prosperous, healthy and happy New Year, and we’re looking forward to supporting you next year!
On behalf of the whole CFF Communications team,
Uneke Dekkers and Geert Pielage +31 20 575 4010
⚡ Facing an unsolicited public offer
Unsolicited public offers and takeover battles are not very common, yet in 2021, we were involved in several. We acted as advisor to Neways, an electronics manufacturing services provider, on the unsolicited offer from its major shareholder, the Dutch VDL Group. We also teamed up with our local Belgian team to advise Recticel, a Belgian industrial group, on the unsolicited offer by its Austrian rival Greiner.
In both cases, we worked closely with the respective target companies alongside their financial and legal advisors to determine and execute the best defense strategies as from the moment of the initial unsolicited approach. In response to the VDL Group public offer for Neways, investment firm Infestos saw an opportunity and made a public offer that was superior to that of VDL Group and was recommended by the Neways boards.
Recticel embarked on a divestment strategy, which ultimately resulted in shareholder approval for the sale of one of its business units to fend off the Greiner bid.
🎊 Going public in Amsterdam
2021 has been a busy IPO year. We have been working on several IPO projects, including the listing of parcel locker service company InPost and CTP, the largest logistics and industrial real estate developer of Central and Eastern Europe, on Euronext Amsterdam. 2021 was also a record year for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs. As such, we acted as advisor for several SPAC IPOs on Euronext Amsterdam.
🌱 The new, sustainable HQ of BNP Paribas on the front page
We assisted our long-term client BNP Paribas in announcing their new head office on the Zuidas, the Cubehouse, during the largest real estate fair in the Netherlands, Provada.
These headquarters will be shared with partners Arcadis and G&S Vastgoed and provides a unique opportunity to set a new standard for sustainable buildings at the Amsterdam Zuidas. We generated wide dedicated press coverage in the national media, including an exclusive frontpage interview with the BNP Paribas Nederland CEO.
💪 Supporting PLUS and COOP with their merger into a new cooperative
We have supported national supermarket chains PLUS and COOP with their plans to merge. The retail landscape is changing rapidly and we work for many retailers, but a merger of two cooperatives is quite unique in the Dutch market and has its own dynamics. This transaction creates the third-largest service supermarket in the Netherlands and with the recently received conditional approval from competition authorities, the transaction can now be concluded.
👁️ The latest media monitoring trends, according to our Media Intelligence team
When it comes to our media intelligence team, there are a number of trends that have specifically captured our attention in 2021. We saw an increased demand for social media monitoring on Reddit and LinkedIn, for example. A growing number of clients are incorporating our news feeds in third-party apps like Beekeeper or Workplace by Facebook. Some of our clients upgraded their regular news overview with coverage on the impact of Covid-19, or relevant industry trends like ESG, and renewable energy or mobility developments.
We also have continued to further enhance our reports with the latest insights from our public affairs and branding colleagues. This has for example led to tailored political monitoring reports around the parliamentary elections in March 2021 and more recently the formation of a new cabinet.
🚀 Launching Fugro’s unmanned ship, Fugro Orca, in the port of Hoek van Holland
At the end of November, we proudly supported Fugro Nederland with the official launch of the Fugro Orca, one of the two vessels in their unmanned vessel line Blue Essence, in the port of Hoek van Holland.
The vessel is designed for inspecting offshore structures and can remotely launch a controllable underwater robot. It was an incredibly beautiful project that received a great response from the Dutch media.
🌟 System 2. Test programme completed. Mission successful!
In October, The Ocean Cleanup completed the test programme of System 2 in The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The clean-up system worked as planned and the organisation can now begin on developing System 3 – the 2.5 km model that will eventually be used on a large scale to clean up even more plastic. System 2 is currently back out to sea to clean up even more plastic.
CFF Communications took care of the worldwide outreach to media, which resulted in thousands of articles in national and international news outlets.
About CFF Communications
CFF Communications was founded in 1993 and has since become the leading financial and corporate communications agency in the Netherlands, with a team of almost 40 professionals. Armed with many years of experience, a diverse team of specialists and our international network, we offer custom-made advice and practical support. We combine expertise on all fronts: from media relations to financial PR and from public affairs to branding and media monitoring. This is how we realise the best long-term solution for every unique situation. >> Read more