Former WPP PLC (LON:WPP) boss Martin Sorrell has won a fierce bidding war between his new business, S4 Capital, and his old employer for Dutch digital ad agency MediaMonks.
The 73-year-old sweetened the €300mln deal by agreeing to pay some of that fee in S4 shares to fend off any competition from WPP.
The ad giant’s lawyers had sent a letter to Sorrell last week, claiming that he could lose up to £20mln in share awards if he pursued the takeover as he would be in breach of a confidentiality agreement signed when he left back in April.
READ: WPP warns Sorrell against MediaMonks bid
Sorrell is understood to have shrugged off the claims though, with reports suggesting he wouldn’t let £20mln stand in the way of his plans.
S4 Capital – which is still officially a cash shell called Derriston Capital PLC (LON:DERR), shares in which are suspended pending an upcoming shareholder vote – said MediaMonks is the first part of its strategy to create the “digital platform of the future”.
Sorrell stepped down from WPP, the company he founded and led, back in April in the wake of an investigation into personal misconduct allegations.
He set up S4 with £40mln of his own money and is said to have already raised an additional £1bn from City investors to grow the business.
A spokesman for WPP could not be immediately reached.
In early afternoon trading, WPP shares were 0.5% higher to 1,216.5p.
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