Advertising giants appeal to EU regulators to grant merger November 26, 2013 Advertising companies Omnicom and Publicis have urged European Union (EU) regulators to approve their $31bn (£22bn) merger. Omnicom and Publicis are the world's second and third largest advertising firms respectively, as such they will need to clear the hurdles of EU antitrust laws before proceeding with the deal. The merger agreed in July has been [...]
Business bosses call for end to dithering on new runway plan November 19, 2013 DISGRUNTLED bosses have urged politicians to end their prolonged “dithering” on expanding Britain’s airports or face losing business to countries willing to allow more runways. More than a hundred corporate heads and business groups have signed the campaign to “Let Britain Fly”, which is backed by London First, the British Chambers of Commerce and the [...]
WPP acquires award winning Bottle Rocket November 8, 2013 WPP announced today that it has acquired US mobile solution provider, Bottle Rocket. Bottle Rocket creates specialised high-end apps for iPhones, iPads and Androids. The company won several industry awards including the Apple Hall of Fame awards. Bottle Rocket, founded in 2008, posted unaudited revenue for the previous twelve months ended September 2013 of $17m [...]
Twitter frenzy as investors rush in November 7, 2013 TWITTER held one of the most highly-anticipated public debuts of the year yesterday at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with intense investor interest that caused the company’s stock to jump 92 per cent at the start of trading. The social media darling eventually settled at $44.90 (£27.90) a share, up 73 per cent from [...]
Most Brits hail foreign firms moving to UK October 28, 2013 MOST Britons would welcome a foreign company that decided to move its base to the UK, according to a poll out today. Seventy-eight per cent think an overseas firm moving to their region would be positive, while 69 per cent believe such a relocation would benefit the country as a whole, a survey of 2,000 [...]
WPP boss warns US uncertainty can strike again October 24, 2013 UNCERTAINTY has shaken the US advertising market, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell said yesterday, blaming the political stalemate in Washington DC that nearly led to the country defaulting on its debt. Sorrell, whose company reported a five per cent jump in third quarter revenues yesterday, said he is worried the issue could easily crop [...]
London Report: FTSE hits a five month high as banks recover October 24, 2013 BRITAIN’S main share index rose yesterday to a five-month high, boosted by strong earnings reports and a rebound in financial and basic material stocks. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent, or 38.70 points, at 6,713.18 points, its first close above 6,700 since May. A daily close above 6,700 indicated that the [...]
UK and US growth pushes WPP profit October 24, 2013 WPP has said this morning that it saw third quarter revenues up 7.4 per cent at £2.680bn, with like-for-like revenue growth accelerating to 5.0 per cent. Shares leapt on the news. (Release) The global advertiser saw strong growth in the UK, North America and Latin America was complemented by growth in advertising and media investment [...]
UK TV box firm Pace pays £191m for Aurora in US October 23, 2013 SET-TOP box maker Pace yesterday saw its share price skyrocket more than ten per cent to value the company at over £1bn, after the company announced it would buy US network firm Aurora Networks for $310m (£191.7m). Pace expects the purchase will significantly boost the company’s earnings in 2014, with cost savings from synergies worth [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 October 2013 October 23, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WPP Liberum Capital has reiterated its “buy” rating for advertising and public relations firm WPP and raised its target price from 1300p to 1450p. WPP is expected to post solid third quarter organic growth in its results today and remains Liberum’s top advertising [...]