Ipsos 'Preparing Bid for Kantar Media'

Ipsos is preparing a bid for Kantar Media, according to sources quoted by Reuters. The French-based group would need to have finance in place next week, according to the report, and joins equity firms Cinven and Triton as rumoured buyers for the division.

Rumours of a possible sale of Kantar Media resurfaced earlier in November, ten months on from the first reports mentioned by Sky News. Reports old and new suggest a price of 'around £1 billion for the division, and there has been some speculation that a sale of the whole of Kantar - of which Bain Capital owns 60% and WPP 40% - may follow. Since being valued at around £3.2bn in 2019, Kantar has divested units including its Reputation Intelligence business, and Kantar Public, now known as Verian.

According to Reuters 'two people with knowledge of the matter' indicated that Ipsos is preparing a 'binding offer' to buy the audience measurement and media trends division. Reuters stressed that 'there is no certainty a deal will materialise', and spokespeople for the companies concerned and their advisers have declined to comment at this stage.

Ipsos has recent form in buying units of its major European competitors, although at a rather smaller price tag. Six years ago the company completed the acquisition of four global divisions of GfK Custom Business Research for a total of EUR 105m.

Web sites: www.ipsos.com and www.kantarmedia.com .