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| Mark Penn |
Stagwell Group, a holding company formed by Mark Penn in 2015, has proposed merging with MDC Partners to create a $2B ad/PR combine.
Penn, who chairs and owns a 30 percent MDC stake, said a deal would result in $35M in cost synergies and offer "best-in-class combination of insights, creative, digital and performance."
Stagwell's $4.25 per-share offer represents a 263 percent premium to MDC's June 24 closing stock price of $1.17
MDC has formed a special committee of the board to evaluate Stagwell's officer. “We are committed to maximizing shareholder value and, if it makes sense to proceed, we will do so in a thoughtful and diligent manner," said Irwin Smith, lead independent director of the company.
MDC recorded a 0.3 percent dip in first-quarter revenues to $327.7M and a $2.4M loss.
Its PR units include Allison + Partners, KWT Global and Hunter.
Stagwell's PR properties are Finn Partners, SKDKnickerbocker, Sloane & Co. and Wye Communications.
WPP chief Cindy Rose is cutting up to 1,000 jobs by the end of the year, adding to the 11K jobs lost since the start of 2025, according to a report in the Financial Times.
WPP CEO Cindy Rose declares her stabilization plan is "firmly on track" as the company reports a 4.7 percent dip in 1H revenues.
FTI Consulting reported a 2.6 percent drop in Q2 strategic communications revenues to $100M, a shortfall largely due to a $7.4M decline in pass-through revenues.
Omnicom CEO John Wren reported a 7.2 percent rise in Q2 “core operations” to $6B and a 6.1 percent spurt on an organic basis.
Publicis Groupe’s H1 net revenues inched ahead by 1.1 percent to $8.3B. Organic growth hit the 4.7 percent mark.
