(Bloomberg) -- FGS Global, which grew into one of the world’s biggest corporate communications firms through a series of mergers, has hired management consultancy McKinsey & Co. to advise on its growth strategy as KKR & Co. nears completion of its takeover.

The three-month process, dubbed “Project Thunder,” aims to develop and execute a business plan for the PR firm to achieve its “most ambitious growth opportunities” from 2025 to 2027, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. FGS Chief Executive Officer Alexander Geiser and KKR’s co-head of European private equity, Philipp Freise, are holding a town hall with employees in Europe on Tuesday to discuss strategy, people familiar with the matter said.

FGS managing director Mareike Oldemeinen, who helps lead its corporate development function, and James Leviseur, chief of staff to Global Co-Chair Roland Rudd, will coordinate the effort. They’ll work with McKinsey’s Tom Bartman, a Miami-based partner who heads the firm’s Center for eCommerce Operations in North America, as well as Paris-based senior partner Homayoun Hatami, according to the memo. 

Representatives for FGS and KKR declined to comment, while McKinsey didn’t immediately respond to queries.

New York-based private equity firm KKR in August agreed to increase its stake in FGS to about 80% from 30% by buying WPP Plc’s remaining holding for $775 million. The deal gave FGS an enterprise value of $1.7 billion and is expected to close by the end of this year. 

FGS Global helps companies with crisis management, financial communications and government affairs. It has about 1,400 employees in 31 offices, according to its website.

Finsbury merged with US agency Glover Park Group and Germany’s Hering Schuppener in 2020, and later added US deals specialist Sard Verbinnen & Co. to the group. They then spent months working on a new name for the combined company, eventually changing one letter by rebranding from FGH to FGS Global in June 2022, showing the sensitivities around combining several unique PR brands led by different personalities. 

McKinsey is known for its data-driven approach to boosting growth through innovative sales initiatives, as well as efficiency measures like job cuts to boost profitability. More recently, the firm has come under both public and political scrutiny for its alleged role helping opioid makers boost sales. 

--With assistance from Swetha Gopinath.

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