WPP goes head-to-head with former boss Sir Martin Sorrell in bidding war for Dutch digital agency MediaMonks July 3, 2018 WPP is locked in a bidding war with former chief exec Sir Martin Sorrell's new venture S4 Capital to take over Dutch digital agency MediaMonks. Reports on Monday suggested Sorrell's new vehicle S4 Capital was in talks to acquire the company, which has around 600 staff. But it emerged today that WPP made an offer [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell gets £100m funding from City investors for new venture S4 Capital July 1, 2018 Adman Sir Martin Sorrell has raised around £100m for his new marketing venture S4 Capital, City A.M. understands. Sorrell has been scoping out City investors to back the advertising enterprise, which is looking to capitalise on opportunities in tech, data and content marketing. A spokesperson for Sorrell declined to comment. The former WPP boss returned [...]
WPP brings in top law firms to find source of leaked emails June 28, 2018 WPP has hired lawyers to investigate the source of anonymous emails which were sent to former and current employees at the company after the resignation of its long-time chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. Anonymous emails were sent to WPP employees through encrypted Swiss email service Proton, which hides the identity of its user. The emails [...]
Cannes Lions 2018 aims for restraint as advertising industry battles a number of challenges June 18, 2018 The advertising community has descended upon Cannes this week for its annual get together, but amid the rosé quaffing there is a sense of restraint, as the industry battles a number of challenges. For many, Cannes Lions – the advertising industry’s equivalent of the Oscars – has become synonymous with parties, booze and a certain [...]
WPP faces investor backlash over Sir Martin Sorrell’s exit pay June 13, 2018 WPP has voted to reinstate chairman Roberto Quarta, despite facing a fierce shareholder revolt over the pay packet Sir Martin Sorrell received when he left the company. At the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) today, 17 per cent of shareholders voting by proxy went against Quarta’s reappointment. But a significant proportion of investors took issue [...]
British Airways-owner IAG in the spotlight over excessive exec pay June 12, 2018 British Airways-owner IAG has been criticised by a shareholder advisory group for excessive executive pay. Advisory group Pirc has recommended shareholders abstain on IAG’s remuneration report over concerns about excessive pay for its chief executive. Pirc said that the pay of chief executive officer (CEO) Willie Walsh was “unacceptable” when compared to an average employee, [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell mulls over taking legal action against WSJ claims June 10, 2018 Advertising guru Sir Martin Sorrell is considering legal action against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) after a report claimed to expose details of WPP's investigation into his conduct. City A.M. understands that Sorrell has consulted lawyers following the American media organisation's publication of information relating to his departure from the world's largest advertising firm in [...]
Sorrell’s second empire: Former WPP chief executive will face a harder time growing his new business June 4, 2018 The news that Martin Sorrell has re-entered the ad industry via the takeover of a little-known shell company, Derriston Capital (set to be renamed S4 Capital), naturally has echoes of his acquisition of a wire, paper, and plastics firm in 1985. Of course, that firm is now WPP, one of the world’s largest ad agencies, [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell’s mission: To out-fox former WPP allies, proxy voting pressure and fintech in focus June 1, 2018 It was there in black and white. In his farewell memo to 180,000 WPP staff in mid-April, Sir Martin Sorrell couldn’t have been more explicit: “As a founder, I can say that WPP is not just a mattter of life or death, it was, is and will be more important than that. Good fortune and [...]
WPP promises strategy revamp in first update since Martin Sorrell resignation April 30, 2018 Advertising giant WPP today said reported revenue for the first quarter had dipped by four per cent as it gave its first trading update since losing chief executive Martin Sorrell earlier this month. Accounting for currency headwinds of six per cent, revenue was up two per cent while like-for-like revenue rose 0.8 per cent on [...]