Kantar Media to be sold to HIG Capital
Kantar is selling its measurement and analytics arm, Kantar Media, to HIG Capital, a global private investment group, for $1bn.
The deal is expected to close later this year, following a legal and regulatory process.
HIG Capital currently owns $67bn of capital under management and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its portfolio of investments consists of over 400 companies across a variety of industries, including tech, media and telecoms.
According to a statement from Kantar Media, the acquisition is at a “pivotal moment” as the business “embarks on an exciting phase of growth and innovation”.
Plans to ‘accelerate’ growth
CEO Patrick Béhar will continue to lead the business.
He commented: “This transaction would give us the resources and support to further accelerate our growth trajectory and strengthen our position as the global leader in media measurement and analytics.
“With HIG’s expertise in scaling businesses and driving performance, we are more confident than ever in our ability to deliver innovative, data-driven solutions that meet the evolving needs of our growing client base all over the globe.”
Kantar Media currently operates in 62 markets, offering clients audience measurement, data analytics, and media planning and validation services.
Its parent, Kantar, is owned by Bain Capital and WPP. The former acquired a 60% stake in 2019. At the time of the acquisition, Bain valued the overall Kantar business at £3.2bn.
Analysts expect the sale of Kantar Media to boost the value of the wider Kantar group — something that would provide a boon to WPP at a time when its organic growth has been outstripped by many of its holding company competitors.
In Kantar’s 2023 annual earnings report, its media division reported gross revenue of $477.5m — a 7.7% increase from the year before.
Nishant Nayyar, HIG Capital’s managing director, said the company was “confident that as an independent business under the leadership of Patrick, the company will continue to thrive and lead the way in media measurement and analytics innovation”.
Separating from ‘big Kantar’
The sale comes a month after Kantar Media was revealed to be in talks to be acquired by Ipsos.
Ipsos ultimately declined to make an offer, despite apparent synergies between the two companies’ measurement solution offerings.
Notably, Kantar Media conducts broadcast audience measurement on behalf of Barb, with its current contract running until 2029, as well as in 61 other countries, making it a global leader in the production of TV ratings.
Ipsos eyes UK TV measurement space as it plots Kantar Media acquisition
The Media Leader previously reported that, according to a former Kantar executive, a sale of Kantar Media has been on the cards for some time, with Béhar recruited in September 2023 with the explicit goal of completing a sale.
When asked by The Media Leader in November of that year whether he had discussed a sell-off with Kantar chairman Adam Crozier, Béhar said: “As you know, Kantar Media is separating from what I call ‘big Kantar’, which is insights and all the rest. So we have our own board. We’re operating independently.”
Kantar CEO Chris Jansen confirmed in a statement that the company “set up Kantar Media to be operationally independent in 2023 to allow it to consolidate its global leadership position in audience measurement”.
The HIG Capital deal “positions Kantar Media to continue its investments in technological and geographical leadership”, he added.
Jansen said the sale will help Kantar further focus on helping its clients grow “through a unique combination of IP, data assets and increasing the rapid deployment of AI”.
Why would Kantar sell off its media division (and Barb with it)?