WPP bid for TNS turns hostile

by Colin Marrs, Campaign 09-Jul-08, 07:35

LONDON - Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group this morning announced that its bid for market research group TNS has turned hostile.

In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange, WPP said it would offer 260.6p per share for the company.

This values the entire share capital of TNS at around £1.082 billion. If the bid is successful, WPP hopes to merge the company with its existing research firm, Kantar.

The WPP statement said: "A Kantar/TNS combination would create the second largest information, insight and consultancy group globally, with leadership positions in key geographies, competencies and sectors."

It said that one-off merger costs between the companies would reach up to £52 million.

WPP also said its offer to TNS shareholders was conditional on them rejecting a proposed merger between with Gfk.

It said: "WPP questions the ability of GfK-TNS to deliver the merger benefits expected by TNS."