^{(In the picture: Paolo Zanetto, CEO of Excellera Advisory Group and Samantha Bartel, CEO of IP Excellera)}

Italian corporate affairs advisory group, Excellera Advisory Group (Excellera), has acquired Instinctif Partners MENA, Instinctif Partners’ Middle East operations throughout the region and in Arabic-speaking North African countries.
The company will retain the same management team, led by founder CEO Samantha Bartel, and will operate under a new name, IP Excellera, which reflects the new ownership of the company and Excellera’s expanding footprint in the region.

Gianfranco Piras, Chairman of Excellera Advisory Group and Partner at Xenon Private Equity, said: “The acquisition of IP MENA marks a fundamental step in Excellera’s growth journey, confirming the soundness of our investment strategy and the Group’s ability to attract high-value companies in fast-growing markets. At Xenon Private Equity, we have believed from the very beginning in the creation of a strong, competitive Group capable of establishing itself as a leading player in the corporate affairs sector and serving as a platform for further aggregation. Entering the MENA region strengthens Excellera’s platform and broadens its scope, laying the foundations for long-term growth.“

Paolo Zanetto, CEO of Excellera Advisory Group, commented: “This transaction is another important step in our international development strategy. In an increasingly interconnected world, the EMEA region has become a natural arena for those, like us, who provide strategic advice on complex and global issues. With this deal, we are enhancing our presence in a key market for global finance and business, integrating a highly skilled team led by Samantha Bartel. We are excited to embark on this new journey together.”

Samantha Bartel, CEO of IP Excellera, added: “We are delighted to be joining Excellera Advisory Group for the next stage of our growth journey. It has been an amazing 12 years since we established in MENA and I’d like to thank all colleagues for their hard work and dedication and clients for their loyalty, who have made it so special over the years. We will continue to build our value proposition so we can consistently offer our clients the very best advice across strategic communications, capital markets and investor relations, corporate reporting, and ESG & sustainability and service our growing client roster even better.”