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Breaking up world's top advertising group could net £22bn
Sir Martin Sorrell's resignation has raised the question of whether his successor will be able to stop a breakup of the world’s largest advertising group.
A number of names have emerged as potential runners and riders, including the Informa chief executive Stephen Carter, who has worked at Ofcom, cable firm NTL and at WPP’s ad agency JWT, Adam Crozier, whose pedigree includes running ITV, Royal Mail, the Football Association and Saatchi & Saatchi, the Sky chief executive, Jeremy Darroch and Andrew Robertson, the chief executive of WPP rival Omnicom’s global BBDO ad network.
Some analysts believe that there is more value in breaking up the sprawling empire WPP
employs more than 200,000 staff in 400 separate ad businesses in more
than 3,000 offices in 112 countries particularly as its stock market
value has plummeted more than a third in the past year.
A breakup of WPP could net shareholders more than £22bn, about £17 a
share, much more than its current value of £11.50 a share or £15bn
market cap, according to analysts.
