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WPP’s plans to buyout Cordiant Communications (see WPP Seals £266m Cordiant Takeover) may be scuppered yet, if intransigent majority shareholder, Active Value, manages to gather together a sufficient holding in Cordiant to block the deal. Active Value has explicitly stated that it would like to see Cordiant remain independent and has proposed to inject more… Continue reading Active Value Ups Cordiant Stake To Block WPP Deal

Cordiant Communications has been valued at just £10 million by WPP’s rescue takeover deal, announced this morning. Before news of the loss of the Allied Domecq advertising account sent Cordiant’s shares spiralling down, the company had a market capitalisation of around £113 million (see Potential Buyers Circle Crisis-Ridden Cordiant). However, Cordiant will not come that… Continue reading WPP Seals £266m Cordiant Takeover

Internet banking continues to attract new custom with figures showing that traffic in the UK has increased by 65% in the last year. Online transactions are becoming a way of life, particularly for cash rich, time poor consumers and Hitwise reports that banking websites now account for 1.42% of all web traffic, up from 0.86%… Continue reading UK Surfers Check Out Online Banking

The UK government has described as a triumph the auction of 15 regional fixed wireless licences, which should enable broadband to reach a wider population across the country. The sale of remaining licences in the 3.4GHz spectrum had taken longer than expected due to a reluctance on the part of investors to commit funds at… Continue reading Government Sells Off UK Fixed Wireless Licences

WPP is now in exclusive and advanced negotiations to buy ailing advertising group, Cordiant Communications, the two companies announced last night. The news follows speculation that WPP was being outflanked by Maurice Levy’s Publicis Group. The French advertising giant recently struck a deal with Cerberus Capital Management, the US fund that already holds a significant… Continue reading WPP In Exclusive Negotiations To Buy Cordiant

Advertisers have welcomed the extension of Competition Commission’s inquiry into the proposed merger of Carlton and Granada as a sign that their concerns over the creation of a single ITV sales house are being addressed. Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, yesterday announced that the deadline for the Commission to report on the planned £2.6… Continue reading Advertisers Welcome Delay On ITV Merger Judgement

UK regional newspaper publisher, Johnston Press, says that trading over the last five months has been ahead of expectations, with advertising revenues rising by 2% year on year. In what Johnston described as an encouraging sign, all classified advertising categories reported positive growth, although display advertising was marginally negative, held back by weaker demand from… Continue reading Johnston Press Sees Encouraging Trading

Universal McCann‘s head of advertising forecasting Robert Coen has slightly downgraded his US and global advertising growth predictions for 2003 in the latest edition of his Insider’s Report. Following a slightly weaker than anticipated first half, full-year 2003 US adspend growth has been cut from December’s 5.0% forecast to 4.6% (see Universal McCann Expert Upbeat… Continue reading Coen Pulls Down 2003 Ad Forecasts

New Broadcasting Minister, Lord McIntosh, claims the switch to digital TV will be a “win-win” situation, but has admitted the Government is unclear on the potential uses for the analogue spectrum. Speaking at yesterday’s Westminster Media Forum, McIntosh defended plans to go ahead with with the conversion to digital TV by the current 2006/2010 deadline,… Continue reading Government Undecided On Future Of Analogue TV Spectrum

Five has renewed its conditional access agreement with BSkyB, ending speculation that other terrestrial broadcasters would follow the BBC’s lead and begin broadcasting unencrypted on digital satellite. Earlier this year the BBC withdrew from the BSkyB service to begin broadcasting to digital viewers from a different satellite, in a move designed to save the Corporation… Continue reading Five Renews Conditional Access Deal With Sky