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
Read moreWPP 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
Read moreWPP 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
Read moreBroker 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
Read moreBroker snap: Organic growth a problem at WPP, says Jefferies
21st Jun 2012 10:27
Jefferies has maintained an 'underperform' rating for advertising and media giant WPP following Wednesday's acquisition of AKQA, saying that questions still remain over the extent of the company's digital organic growth. Sir Martin Sorrell's firm announced that it has agreed to buy the assets of AK
Read moreThursday broker round-up
21st Jun 2012 09:13
ARM Holdings: Investec maintains buy rating and 800p target. Ashtead: Jefferies ups target from 300p to 320p, buy rating retained. Bellway: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral. British Land: Societe Generale downgrades to sell. CRH: HSBC upgrades to overweight. Dignity: Goldman Sachs downgrades
Read moreWPP snaps up digital agency AKQA
20th Jun 2012 15:02
Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP has made yet another acquisition: the media giant has agreed to buy the assets of AKQA Holdings, 'the world's leading independent and most awarded digital agency'. AKQA, which employs some 1,160 people around the world, provides digital communications campaigns spanning soc
Read moreLondon close: Stocks higher despite soaring Spanish yields
18th Jun 2012 16:42
-Stocks swing between gains and losses on euro crisis -New Democracy wins majority in Greek elections -Spanish yields set euro-era high...again The Footsie ended the day only slightly higher as soaring bond yields in Spain and uncertainty over the situation in Greece weighed on sentiment. There wa
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Evraz leads the risers
18th Jun 2012 15:02
Steel giant Evraz was a high riser of the day after Alexander David Securities reiterated its 'buy' recommendation for the stock, while precious metals miner Polymetal was being boosted by an 'overweight' rating from Morgan Stanley. Luxury firm Burberry was lifted into the top spot, with the only
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks edge higher despite euro uncertainty
18th Jun 2012 11:49
- Markets digest Greek elections - Spanish bond yields above seven per cent - Barroso expects coalition to be formed 'swiftly' An underwhelming outcome to the Greek elections and surging bond yields in Spain saw the Footsie swing between gains and losses on Monday morning; by lunchtime, the blue ch
Read moreWPP takes stake in Slovakian agency
18th Jun 2012 10:16
Acquisitive advertising conglomerate WPP has acquired a stake in Istropolitana Group, a full service advertising agency group in the Slovak Republic. Founded in 1992 and head-quartered in Bratislava, Istropolitana is a full service advertising agency comprising a number of separate businesses. The
Read moreLondon midday: Markets calm as Italian yields rise
14th Jun 2012 11:50
Markets have reacted positively in the main to the outcome of the Italian bond auction on Thursday morning, which saw yields rise fairly steeply. Italy issued a total of €4.5bn of debt in three, seven, and eight-year bonds. It matched its issuance target but had to pay higher yields than on the pr
Read moreWPP back on acquisition trail after being rudely interrupted
14th Jun 2012 11:36
Acquisitive media conglomerate WPP is to launch a bid for global communications services group Press Index after buying a majority stake in the firm. WPP has acquired 87% of the share capital of Press Index from its founders and other sellers, triggering a requirement to make an offer to buy out th
Read moreLondon close: Shareholder spring moves into summer at WPP
13th Jun 2012 17:08
It was an up and down day for the Footsie although the top-share index rarely strayed far from the previous day's closing value. The so-called "shareholder spring" of protest votes against bumper pay packages for executives continued with perhaps the biggest slap in the face so far, as 60% of votes
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Sainsbury disappoints with trading update
13th Jun 2012 15:19
Supermarket group Sainsbury's keenly awaited trading update proved a bit anti-climactic with like-for-like (LFL) sales growth below expectations. LFL sales in the 12 weeks to June 9th were up 1.4% on the corresponding period of last year, below market expectations of growth of between 1.6% and 2.0%.
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