M&C Saatchi has agreed to be acquired by digital marketing group Next Fifteen for £310 million (AUD550 million).
A fourth bid valued at £254 million by director and deputy chair Vin Murria, a software entrepreneur, was rejected.
Next Fifteen CEO Tim Dyson: “This is an exciting opportunity to bring together two highly complementary businesses creating a truly global and diversified group with exceptional capabilities, clients and talent.
“Bringing M&C Saatchi into the Next Fifteen group provides us with a step change in our scale and global reach, and an enhanced ability to offer digitally driven solutions to growth-minded organisations.”
Next Fifteen believes the acquisition is a highly compelling opportunity to establish a truly global platform in the digital marketing and consulting sectors, leveraging creativity, technology, data, business consulting and digital marketing.
Moray MacLennan, CEO of M&C Saatchi: “This merger will be a powerful accelerator for M&C Saatchi. Through connecting with Next Fifteen capabilities and companies, our ability to deliver meaningful change for existing and new clients will be deepened and broadened, turbo charging our next phase of growth.”
In its latest results, Next Fifteen posted full year net revenue growth of 32% to £165.9 million. Organic net revenue growth was 23%.
M&C Saatchi reported better than expected results for the year to December with net revenue growth of 10.6% and like-for-like of 15.1%.
The company posted record headline operating profit £31.1 million, up from £12 million in 2020 and a statutory profit before tax of £21.6 million versus a £8.5 million loss.
Gareth Davis, the chair of the global agency: “The M&C Saatchi independent directors are pleased to unanimously recommend this alternative, more attractive offer, which we are confident is in the best interests of M&C Saatchi shareholders and M&C Saatchi’s other key stakeholders.
“The M&C Saatchi independent directors all consider Next Fifteen’s offer to be far superior to the offer announced earlier this week by ADV (Murria ‘s investment vehicle), and a clear repudiation of ADV’s response statement that it strongly disagreed its bid undervalued M&C Saatchi.”
The company was founded in 1995 by Maurice & Charles Saatchi, Jeremy Sinclair, Bill Muirhead and David Kershaw.
Kershaw, Sinclair and Muirhead are reportedly in favour of the takeover. Kershaw: 'I can speak on behalf of my fellow founders that we will certainly support it. It is good from a shareholder point of view, puts it at a value we think is fair and for the people in the business we're delighted as well.
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