The sale of VNU looked more likely late Thursday following an announcement that a top VNU investor has agreed to sell its stake to the group of private equity firms that are trying to take it private,
presumably in preparation for a break-up. Knight Vinke Asset Management, the dissident shareholder that had been rallying other shareholders to resist the $9.7 billion offer, agreed to sell its 1.3
percent stake in VNU, the parent of Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen and various trade publications.