WPP sizes up Young & Rubicam

A marketing services supergroup, owning top five global branding consultancies Enterprise IG and Landor Associates, could emerge if reports over WPP Group’s bid for Young & Rubicam are realised.

A WPP/ Y&R merger would create the biggest international network in marketing services, ahead of current leader Omnicom.

According to last week’s edition of The Independent on Sunday (18 April), WPP Group chairman Sir Martin Sorrell is expected to make an offer for Y&R worth $4bn (£2.5bn), 40 per cent more than its stock closing price last week.

Sorrell is understood to be “prepared to make a full-scale hostile bid” for Y&R, whose staff own 40 per cent of its stock, if the first tack fails, says the newspaper. It says talks between Enterprise IG-owner WPP and Landor- owner Y&R have come to a halt over the issue of compensation payments to Y&R management.

Other than select interactive operations such as Brand Dialogue, Y&R 2.1 and Digital Edge, Y&R has no other specialist design consultancies. WPP’s other design interests include The Brand Union, BDG McColl, Coley Porter Bell, Addison, Banner McBride, BPRI, Oakley Young and Walker Group in New York.

WPP-owned consultancy, Scott Stern Associates of Glasgow is restructuring after the retirement of founder Raymond Stern. Managing director Simon MacQuarrie and creative director Jonathan Frewin have both taken the title of managing partner.