Ad Giant WPP Resists Breakup Talk
20 April 2018 - 2:37AM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
WPP PLC's interim management is pouring cold water on analyst
demands for a breakup of the world's largest advertising group in
the wake of founder Martin Sorrell's departure.
The 73-year-old's exit as WPP chief executive, following an
investigation into an allegation of personal misconduct, has
financial analysts performing sum-of-parts valuations for WPP's
sprawling ad empire.
"We don't believe this makes sense," Mark Read, WPP's freshly
appointed co-chief operating officer, wrote in a memo to staff on
Thursday.
Earlier this month, WPP said an independent counsel has been
appointed to look into "an allegation of personal misconduct" after
The Wall Street Journal reported on the probe. The Journal reported
that the board was also looking into whether Mr. Sorrell misused
company assets. WPP said any possible misconduct did not involve
sums that were material to the company. Mr. Sorrell denied any
financial impropriety.
WPP said it is treating the departure as a retirement, and the
investigation's findings are confidential.
"WPP is a great business with outstanding people, world-class
agencies and most of the world's leading companies as its clients
and partners," Mr. Read wrote Thursday. "Nothing that's happened in
the last week has changed that."
Mr. Sorrell's departure has stoked investor anxieties about how
the business will fare without the person who built it from the
ground up. In his 33-year career at WPP, Mr. Sorrell transformed a
manufacturer of shopping baskets into a holding company
encompassing more than 400 agencies that provide marketing
campaigns for clients such as Unilever PLC and Coca-Cola Co.
That business model was designed to insulate the company from
downturns in ad spending in different countries.
But digital disruption is leading advertisers that once splurged
on ad agency-led campaigns to redirect their spending. The company
last month posted its worst sales performance since the financial
crisis and projected no revenue growth for the year. Its stock
price has dipped almost 35% over the past year, including a 6.5%
drop on Monday after Mr. Sorrell stepped down.
Analysts at London brokerage Liberum described Mr. Sorrell as
"the glue that bound much of WPP together."
Kantar, the company's market research unit, is "the most obvious
candidate for disposal," Liberum wrote in a research note, adding a
sale could raise 3.5 billion pounds to reduce debt or return cash
to shareholders.
Alex DeGroote of Cenkos, the London brokerage, said separating
the company's digital, advertising, market research and other
assets could lead to a 40% rise in the share price.
"The problem isn't replacing Martin. The problem is that the
model doesn't work," he said.
Mr. Read is serving as chief operating officer alongside Andrew
Scott, previously WPP's corporate development director and chief
operating officer for Europe, until a new CEO is found.
WPP's board has tapped New York-based recruitment firm Russell
Reynolds to conduct a global search to replace Mr. Sorrell,
according to a person familiar with the matter.
The next CEO will need to review WPP's strategy at a time when
the company faces a quickly changing digital advertising landscape
and pressure from clients that are moving their marketing spend
away from traditional agencies.
On Omnicom Group Inc.'s earnings call Tuesday, Mr. Wren said
Kantar was "not a key focus for our acquisition dollars," adding:
"There will be any one of a number of other buyers, including
probably private equity."
Publicis Chief Executive Arthur Sadoun declined "to speculate on
the future of WPP" when he was asked on an earnings call Thursday
about the possibility of acquiring WPP assets.
Under Mr. Sorrell, WPP moved to align its different agencies,
cut costs and allow clients to work with advertising staff that
previously had been siloed. WPP executives often refer to this
approach as "horizontality."
"There's universal admiration for Martin's achievements, and
sadness about his departure," Mr. Read said. "At the same time,
there's a huge amount of support and goodwill for the company, and
no shortage of confidence about the future."
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2018 12:22 ET (16:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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