PR Firm Lambert, Edwards & Associates Acquires Sterling Corporation, Creates Michigan's Top Public Affairs and Issues Management Firm

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its position as Michigan's leading PR firm, Lambert, Edwards & Associates (LE&A) today announced it has acquired Lansing, Mich.-based public policy and issues management firm Sterling Corporation.  The move bolsters LE&A's public affairs practice and establishes it as the largest PR firm in the state's capital and the largest public affairs firm in Michigan.

"We see no better place to invest than Michigan, and no better opportunity than the rapidly evolving and increasingly influential legislative arena," said Jeff Lambert, president and managing partner of LE&A. 

Best known for its public policy, issues management and issue advocacy work, Sterling Corporation offers comprehensive campaign management, grassroots/grasstops advocacy, ballot initiatives, integrated marketing and crisis management.  It is also the state's leading fundraising consultancy.  Sterling was founded in 1999 and has clients across the state and throughout the country spanning corporations, associations, coalitions and non-profits seeking to influence public policy and advocate on behalf of their issues and campaigns.

"We have more corporate clients than any PR firm in Michigan and now have the deepest and broadest bench in the public affairs and legislative arena," Lambert added.  "We look forward to adding the public education, issues management and grassroots mobilization track record of Sterling to our service offering and extending our current public affairs reach to companies and campaigns looking to advance legislation from Lansing to the Beltway and back."

Sterling will remain a separate company and continue to operate under its existing brand, led by Managing Partner Steve Linder and Partner and Political Director Mark Pischea, while benefiting from the added resources, team and national reach of LE&A.  LE&A said the addition of Sterling represents an approximate 20% increase in revenues and staff to the state's top statewide PR firm and will be a catalyst for more work in Lansing and statewide.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

"This combination strengthens our leadership in Lansing and expands the services we can offer clients – services such as digital and social media, consumer and national media and messaging, and investor relations and corporate communications," said Steve Linder.  "While the issues we shape are often regional, our clients are increasingly global and demand more resources and an integrated approach that mirrors their scale.  We believe LE&A, with their statewide offices and national-caliber talent, represent the ideal partner to complement our legislative acumen and access." 

LE&A's acquisition of Sterling is the firm's fifth acquisition and second-largest since its 2009 acquisition of John Bailey & Associates, which marked the firm's entry into Lansing and the public affairs sector.  LE&A has posted 15 straight years of growth and serves clients based in 20 states and six countries from its offices in downtown Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit.

About Lambert, Edwards & Associates

LE&A (www.lambert-edwards.com) is a top-10 Midwest-based PR firm and a top-20 investor relations firm nationally with clients based in 20 states and six countries.  As Michigan's only statewide PR firm – with offices in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit – LE&A serves middle-market companies and national brands across a wide array of industries and is the state's largest bipartisan public affairs firm.  LE&A has posted 15 years of growth, been named PR Week and PRNews Small Firm of the Year, honored as an Edward Lowe "Michigan 50 Companies to Watch," and earned Crain's "Michigan's Healthiest Employers" and "Coolest Places to Work" awards.  LE&A is also a global partner in PROI Worldwide, the largest partnership of independent PR firms in the world spanning 120 cities on five continents.  Follow us on Twitter @LambertEdwards.

SOURCE Lambert, Edwards & Associates