WPP rallies on report Kantar Media could be sold for £1bn

Advertising firm WPP rallied on Friday following a report that Kantar Media, a division of the Kantar market research company, will be auctioned later this year.

Sky News cited City sources as saying that Bain Capital, Kantar's majority owner, was in the process of appointing investment bankers to oversee a sale process.

Industry insiders told Sky that Kantar Media could be worth as much as £1bn. It was unclear exactly when a sales process might get under way.

Bain Capital owns a 60% stake in Kantar, while WPP holds the remaining 40% interest.

According to Sky sources, Kantar Media was also participating in a competitive process being run in the US to establish a rival service to the audience measurement business of Nielsen, another leading market research group.

Kantar Media's current contract with BARB - the company which manages Britain's TV audience measurement system - signed in 2021, runs until 2029, encompassing the bulk of a decade in which consumers' viewing habits are continuing to shift amid the growth of digital viewing platforms.