The tech entrepreneur, who launched four failed bids for the advertising agency in 2022, has been appointed non-executive deputy chair of the group
Vin Murria, the technology entrepreneur and chair of AIM-listed investment vehicle AdvancedAdvT Ltd (LSE:ADVT), has been appointed non-executive deputy chair of M&C Saatchi, the advertising group, and has confirmed she does not intend to make a takeover offer for the company.
The announcement draws a line under years of on-off takeover activity, with Murria and AdvT together holding around 21.6% of M&C Saatchi's issued share capital.
Murria personally holds 11.8% of M&C Saatchi's shares, while AdvT holds a further 9.8%.
Under takeover rules, Murria and AdvT are now bound by restrictions that prevent them from making a bid in the next six months.
The move marks a significant shift in the long-running relationship between Murria and the Soho-based advertising group, which was founded by brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi in 1995.
Murria first acquired a stake in M&C Saatchi and joined its board as non-executive deputy chair in 2021, as the agency was recovering from both the pandemic and an accounting scandal that had forced it to restate several years of results.
In January 2022, AdvT built a further 9.8% stake in M&C Saatchi, taking the combined holding above 22% and triggering a prolonged and often acrimonious takeover battle.
Murria made four successive offers through AdvT, ultimately appealing directly to shareholders after the M&C Saatchi independent directors repeatedly refused to recommend the bids.
The independent directors rejected each approach, arguing that the offers undervalued the business, diluted M&C Saatchi shareholder value, and lacked support from independent shareholders.
The takeover fight became a three-way contest after M&C Saatchi's board accepted a competing offer from Next Fifteen Communications, a rival marketing group, in mid-2022, at which point Murria was removed from the board.
Next Fifteen's bid ultimately failed after more than 89% of M&C Saatchi shareholders voted against a resolution to approve the deal, leaving the agency independent.
Murria's return to the board as non-executive deputy chair represents a rapprochement with the agency in which she has remained the largest individual shareholder throughout.
Who is Vin Murria?
Murria was born in Punjab, India, and moved to the UK at the age of three. She holds a first-class degree in computer science and an MBA from the University of London.
She founded Computer Software Group in 2002, selling it to private equity house Hellman & Friedman for £500 million, before founding Advanced Computer Software Group, which provides IT services to the NHS and other public bodies, and was later acquired by Vista Equity Partners for £765 million in 2015.
She received an OBE in 2018 for services to the British digital economy and for advancing women in the software sector.
M&C buyback
Separately, M&C Saatchi has launched a share buyback programme to repurchase up to £4.5 million of its own shares.
In early trading, AdvT was down 2.5%, while M&C was up 1.5%.