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Brazilian investor group PANAPAR to acquire 73.82% controlling stake in CDN Comunicação from Omnicom

Panaquatira Participações Ltda. (PANAPAR) has agreed to acquire a 73.82% controlling stake in Brazilian communications agency CDN Comunicação from Omnicom Brasil Serviços Ltda., part of the NYSE-listed Omnicom Group.

The agreement was signed on June 29, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction awaits approval from Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).

The deal moves ownership of the 39-year-old corporate and strategic communications firm to a Brazilian management-led group. CEO Fábio Santos will continue to lead the business. Brazilian advertising agency NOVA joins as a strategic partner, expanding what began as a management buyout into a broader partnership between CDN's leadership and an established advertising business.

The acquisition involved two parallel processes: negotiating the purchase of the controlling stake from Omnicom, and simultaneously structuring the Brazilian investor group of PANAPAR, NOVA and CDN's existing leadership. Negotiations ran roughly ten months, with acquisition structure, funding and governance evolving together, and required coordination across corporate, employment and regulatory matters in both Brazil and the United States.

The deal follows Omnicom's acquisition of Interpublic Group, completed in late 2025, which created one of the world's largest marketing and communications groups.

Medeiros Advogados acted as legal counsel to PANAPAR, with founder and managing partner Luciano dos Santos Medeiros leading the transaction.

"This was not a linear acquisition," Medeiros said. "Every change in one workstream had implications for the other, whether on governance, control or execution. Our role was to keep both sides aligned while protecting the client's long-term interests and maintaining a clear path to closing."

CDN Comunicação CEO Fábio Santos said: "This transaction might not even have happened without your guidance. Your firmness and technical expertise secured the best possible agreement, preventing my eagerness to close the deal from leading us to accept something far from ideal."

The transaction will complete once it receives CADE clearance.

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