WPP snaps up digital agency KKLD

24th Jul 2012 07:17

WPP, the highly acquisitive media and advertising giant led by frontman Sir Martin Sorrell, has bought Germany-based digital agency, KKLD, as it attempts to expand its footprint further in digital media. KKLD, bought by WPP's German marketing services network Commarco for an undisclosed sum, will f

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WPP acquires majority stake in Acceleration

23rd Jul 2012 15:40

Media giant WPP has made perhaps the least surprising announcement of the month by unveiling yet another acquisition, this time a majority stake in Acceleration Holdings in Guernsey and Acceleration eMarketing in South Africa, the holding companies of Acceleration, a marketing technology solutions g

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WPP expands LatAm presence after buying Chilean ad firm

20th Jul 2012 14:53

Media giant WPP, run by Si Martin Sorrell, has bought Chilean consumer insight group Cadem Advertising in an effort to expand its footprint in fast-growing markets. Cadem, acquired by WPP's brand, media and communications research subsidiary Millward Brown, was founded in 1997 and has served client

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Broker snap: Counter offers for Aegis unlikely, says Investec

12th Jul 2012 09:49

Investec has hiked its target price for media and digital communications group Aegis from 195p to 240p to fall in line with the offer price by Japanese advertising agency Dentsu. Dentsu is offering 240p in cash for each Aegis share, a 50% premium on the day before the agreed bid announced. The offe

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Wednesday broker round-up

11th Jul 2012 08:10

ASOS: HSBC downgrades to neutral, target lifted from 1,780p to 1,950p. Avanti Communications: Jefferies reiterates buy rating and 600p target. Aviva: Morgan Stanley upgrades to overweight. Balfour Beatty: UBS downgrades to neutral, target cut from 340p to 310p. BTG: Jefferies downgrades from buy

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Tuesday broker round-up - UPDATE

10th Jul 2012 08:18

WPP: JP Morgan upgrades to outperform from neutral. AMEC: BarCap raises target from 1,340p to 1,350p, underweight rating kept. ASOS: Peel Hunt keeps buy rating and 1,800p target. AstraZeneca: BarCap keeps equal weight rating. Betfair: Nomura cuts target from 1,070p to 946p, buy rating unchanged.

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WPP makes acquisition in Finland

9th Jul 2012 13:50

Highly acquisitive media giant WPP has announced that JWT, its wholly-owned advertising agency network, has acquired a majority equity stake in Activeark, a leading full service digital agency in Helsinki, Finland. The agency has operations in both the UK and India and employs more than 80 people.

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WPP snaps up Press Index

4th Jul 2012 10:31

WPP, the advertising world's answer to the Borg in Star Trek, has announced it second acquisition of the week, and this time it is a French agency that is to be assimilated. WPP's wholly-owned operating network Kantar has agreed to acquire 87% of the share capital of Press Index in France at a pri

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WPP expands footprint in Brazil

3rd Jul 2012 09:44

The most-used cheque-book in the City got another outing on Tuesday as acquisitive advertising conglomerate WPP strengthened its presence in Brazil. The group has acquired a 70% stake in Foster Informatica, a digital agency based in São Paulo, Brazil. The agency employs 50 people and numbers Monsan

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London open: Asian data lifts stocks early on

2nd Jul 2012 08:30

- Chinese, Japanese data comes in better than expected - RBS falls on Libor issues - Barclays Chairman resigns London's blue chips edged higher on Monday morning after manufacturing data in China and Japan boosted sentiment. China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 50.4 to 50.2 last mont

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London pre-open: FTSE to track Asian stocks higher

2nd Jul 2012 07:30

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up six points from Friday's close of 5,571, tracking Asian stocks higher following a round of positive data in both China and Japan. Also boosting sentiment is the progress made at the EU summit held at the end of last week, at which a number of significan

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WPP to snap up South Korean agency

2nd Jul 2012 07:15

Highly acquisitive media giant WPP has agreed to acquire the South Korean media planning and buying agency, Alchemedia, which will be merged into its GroupM Korea subsidiary. Alchemedia, founded in 2004 and based in Seoul, generated revenues of 1.4bn South Korean won (£0.78m) in 2011 and had gross

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WPP buys German marketing firm

26th Jun 2012 12:40

Ever-growing advertising company WPP said it had taken full control of Frey G2, a shopper marketing company in Germany. WPP's subsidiary Grey Group previously had a 50% stake in Frey but has now bought the other half of the company for an unspecified amount. Following the deal, the company will be

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WPP gobbles up French PR firm

25th Jun 2012 11:32

British advertising and marketing giant, WPP, has bought French PR firm i&e. i&e has been operating for 50 years in France and specialises in reputation management and brand marketing, with several big French brands as customers. i&e's unaudited revenues for the year ended December 31st 2011 were

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Broker tips: Unilever, WPP, Micro Focus

21st Jun 2012 11:26

Investec has labelled consumer goods giant Unilever a 'warm hold', saying that while upside to the share price is limited, the company is better-placed than struggling peers Proctor and Gamble and Danone. "While P&G and Danone's profit warnings serve to remind that this is not a time for complacenc

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