The Wall Street Journal has published an un-sourced story that activist investor Elliott Management is pushing for the sale of Interpublic.
Elliott took a 6.7 percent stake in IPG during the summer and reportedly is lining up potential board candidates in anticipation of a proxy fight in May.
IPG and Elliott representatives have met several times, according to the WSJ, and could possibly reach an accommodation.
IPG CEO Michael Roth reported a robust 8.3 percent advance in 3Q revenues to $1.8B as net income soared to $92.8M from $49.2M.
Analysts had considered Publicis Groupe, which had a $35B merger deal with Omnicom fall apart, a likely IPG suitor but its $3.7B bid for Sapient this week makes a bid less likely, the WSJ speculated.
Japan's Dentsu has said it's not interested in launching a bid for the No. 4 ad/PR holding company at this time.
Omnicom CEO John Wren reports Q1 revenues jumped 5.4 percent to $3.6M, powered by a solid 7.0 percent rise in its advertising & media segment.
Public Policy Holding Company registered 24.1 percent growth to a record $135M during the past year, which included the results of the March 1 acquisition of Multistate Assocs.
Stagwell CEO Mark Penn reported Q4 net revenues dipped 5.6 percent to $551.1M during a “challenging year for marketing services and digital transformation.”
Why M&A activity in the PR and marketing sector could pick up in 2024.
WPP reported Q4 revenues inched ahead 0.3 percent to $4.1B as CEO Mark Read wrapped up a year that he said was more challenging than expected due to cutbacks, mainly by technology clients.
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