Finn Partners expands in Greater China with the acquisition of CatchOn

Finn Partners, the global marketing and communications firm, has acquired a majority stake in CatchOn, a Hong Kong-based marketing and PR firm, aiming to grow its travel and hospitality practice and expand its presence in China.  CatchOn will be known as CatchOn, a Finn Partners Company, according to the press release. The addition of CatchOn’s staff in Hong Kong and Shanghai is expected to strengthen Finn Partners capabilities in China and bring its total Asia staff strength to more than 70. It will also help grow its global travel and hospitality team to more than 100 professionals. Cathy Feliciano-Chon, founder and CEO of CatchOn, will serve as a managing partner and join the Finn Partners Asia management team led by Allan Tan and Yin Ching Yeap, who are based in Singapore. “Joining a global network like Finn Partners gives our clients unparalleled access to a breadth of expertise and experience while blazing the trail for us beyond the sectors we currently serve. While we’ve grown exponentially in the last few years, being part of the Finn Partners’ family accelerates our growth and capabilities,” Chon said. [caption id="attachment_245491" align="alignnone" width="300"] Cathy Feliciano-Chon (left) and Peter Finn (right).[/caption] Peter Finn, founding partner of Finn Partners said in a statement that the addition of CatchOn in Hong Kong and Shanghai is an important next step in building out the company’s presence in China and APAC. “China’s travel market represents a massive opportunity. With CatchOn on board, we now have one of the world’s largest global communications teams focused on travel and hospitality, and are perfectly positioned to tap this growing market. Cathy [Feliciano-Chon] will be working closely with our global travel practice lead, Gail Moaney, to grow our travel and hospitality clients in the Asia Pacific,” Finn said. This acquisition is the Finn Partners’ latest move in a bid to grow globally. In 2017, Finn Partners acquired Ying Communications, a B2B tech firm located in Singapore, and ABI, which has offices in Singapore and Shanghai. In 2018, the firm acquired London-based Brighter Group, a highly respected travel firm in the UK, and recently added Missy Farren Associates in New York, which focus on outdoor sports and adventure. "Over time Finn Partners will continue to build its presence in Asia Pacific. This will involve expanding into cities in Asia Pacific where we don’t have offices yet, building market share in the cities where we do already have offices, strengthening our existing practices in Asia Pacific, and adding new practices that are synergistic with our capabilities in the US and in Europe. Our future growth in Asia Pacific will include both additional acquisitions, as well as organic growth," said Finn in a statement to Marketing.