Opinion
Who’s going to be buying who in 2016? The media and marketing firms in acquirers’ sights this year
While a busy year overall, 2015 was a fairly quiet one in terms of big pure-marcomms M&A activity, for obvious reasons – there aren’t that many large independent properties...
Read moreImproving value through financial and tax due diligence
Whether a business’s planned exit route is via a trade sale, management buy out or an IPO, there are two key financial elements that will enhance value: 1. Ensuring...
Read more
Will WPP’s Essence deal help tame Sir Martin Sorrell’s great ‘frenemy’ Google?
For some time now WPP has been the most acquisitive of all the global holding companies, making numerous smaller acquisitions in dynamic, fast-growing territories, with the odd big deal...
Read more
ITV buying UTV: What will ITV get for its £100m?
Last month ITV, the UK’s largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, celebrated its 60th anniversary. ITV (that’s both the ITV network, as well as ITV plc, which owns the network along...
Read more
Will ad blocking and mobile bring about a renaissance in creativity?
There’s been a lot of talk these past few days about ad blockers, those clever little apps and web browser widgets that stop you getting bugged by advertising. No...
Read more
Does the £114m Unruly deal represent a future-proofing coup for News Corp?
Last week media agency Zenith Optimedia published a report about mobile advertising, and how mobile ad spend will overtake that for print advertising for the first time. It was...
Read more
Trouble in China? This is why Sir Martin Sorrell isn’t running for cover
One of the big stories of recent weeks has of course been the apparently parlous state of the Chinese economy, which had a lot of commentators, investors and journalists...
Read more
Why Johnston Press is right to consider a merger
This week I thought we’d take a look at a subject we’ve not covered before – the regional press. Time was, 20 or 30 years ago, that publishing a...
Read more
Google’s Alphabet coup – and why it matters for investors and advertisers
So, why all the fuss about Google rebranding itself as Alphabet? Why all the news coverage, and why the 5 per cent spike in the tech giant’s share price...
Read more
Does Sir Martin Sorrell have his eye on sports marketing glory? Unravelling the WPP/Chime deal
Far be it for me to question how Sir Martin Sorrell and WPP go about their business, but my first thoughts whilst on holiday when I heard that WPP...
Read more