John Wren, CEO of Omnicom, has sworn never again to attempt a merger of equal partners in the wake of the collapsed deal with Publicis. As the wisdom of M&A specialists would say: “there is not such a thing as ...
Read More »Talon Warner bid fails, Publicis fall-out from failed merger, phone hacking trial nears the end – me and Liz
***Before we embark on more musings about the collapsed Omnicom/Publicis deal, one of my spies tells me about a thwarted coup by Eric Newnham’s Talon to lure big UK outdoor advertiser Warner Brothers away from WPP-owned Kinetic. Talon is in ...
Read More »WPP’s Sorrell still merrily buying as Omnicom/Publicis saga becomes adland’s version of Game Of Thrones
WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell is continuing his merry acquisition spree, this time buying digital agency Quirk which has an office in London and four in South Africa. Quirk’s revenues are about £8m (so reasonably substantial) and it employs 200 people ...
Read More »Pay bonanza for WPP’s top media execs as Sorrell locks in top talent to fend off Omnicom/Publicis
It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, as they say, and the stuttering (possibly faltering) Omnicom/Publicis merger appears to have benefited the wallets of a number of top WPP media executives. When the plan to merge Omnicom and ...
Read More »WPP makes yet another foray into China with XMKT buy
Another day dawns and dropping into the inbox is another acquisition by WPP. Sir Martin Sorrell’s hyperactive company has announced that it is buying XMKT Group, a Chinese marketing services agency specialising in customer experience management. Founded in 2010, XMKT ...
Read More »Omnicom/Publicis inches ahead in $1bn Microsoft pitch
Pitches for Microsoft’s $1bn plus global advertising and media account are due to take place in early April but already it looks like becoming a shoot-out between Omnicom/Publicis, the hoped-for merger of the two agency giants, and WPP. The other ...
Read More »David Jones exit puts Havas into takeover play
Is Havas more or less likely to be sold now that CEO David Jones has decided to step down to form his own social media company? New boss Yannick Bollore (left), son of major shareholder Vincent, has rather pointedly not ...
Read More »