May 20, 2022 | less than a minute read

M&C Saatchi Takeover by Next Fifteen

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Lena Hodge

Partner

Get in touch

Lena Hodge

Partner

The high level of interest shown from competing bidders pursuing the takeover of M&C Saatchi conveys how public M&A remains buoyant despite challenging macroeconomic pressures amid recent geopolitical developments. In addition, the repeated extensions granted by the Takeover Panel since January 2022 in respect of ADV’s hostile bid for M&C Saatchi, which are a rare occurrence in the UK market, shows that the Panel is willing to cooperate with bidders in order to help accommodate such takeover approaches going forward.

M&C Saatchi has agreed a £310mn takeover by Next Fifteen, days after the advertising group rejected a lower “hostile” offer from the investment vehicle of its largest shareholder Vin Murria. The move by Next Fifteen, a larger communications and marketing company, follows months of wrangling over M&C’s future after the takeover attempt by Murria, a serial tech entrepreneur who owns a 12.5 per cent stake in the company. M&C, a UK ad agency founded by the Saatchi brothers and known for its ties to the Conservative party, this week rejected Murria’s sweetened offer of £254mn through AdvancedAdvT, also known as ADV.

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