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WPP Shareholders Agree Kantar Sale to Bain
WPP shareholders have voted in favour of the company's proposal to sell 60% of its Kantar data, research, consulting and analytics business to private equity firm Bain Capital, in a deal which values the whole of Kantar at around £3.2bn ($4.0bn).
In March, WPP announced a formal process to sell Kantar - home to the agencies formerly known as TNS, Millward Brown and Lightspeed - with WPP retaining a stake in the business. By July, WPP had agreed to sell 60% of Kantar to Bain. As part of the deal, Kantar will be 'carved out' of the wider WPP group by way of a reorganisation, and placed into a holding structure ahead of completion.
Shareholders voted earlier today at a special general meeting held in London, at which more than 99% of votes were in favour of the deal. However, the agreement is still subject to anti-trust approvals globally in the countries where Kantar operates.
Proceeds to WPP from the deal after tax and continuing investment in Kantar are expected to be c.£2.5bn (c.$3.1bn), and WPP will retain c.60% of net proceeds to reduce debt. The balance of c.£1.0bn (c.$1.2bn) will be returned to shareholders.
Web sites: www.wpp.com and www.kantar.com .
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