• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, September 8, 2022

M&C Saatchi suitor AdvancedAdvT Limited ("ADV") has issued a final and accelerated deadline for shareholders to tender their shares by September 30.

ADV, which Saatchi considers a hostile bidder, has been pursuing a takeover of the London-based agency since the beginning of the year. So far the company and its CEO, Vin Murria have acquired more than 22.5% of outstanding shares in the company including its own shares and those tendered by third parties.

In May a second company stepped forward with an alternative bid—London-based ad-marketing firm Next Fifteen Communications. Saatchi leadership has made clear that it would prefer to have NFC acquire the agency but ADV’s offer is higher so it will not formally endorse the NFC bid while strongly urging shareholders not to tender shares to ADV. Among the stated reasons are that Saatchi does not have confidence in ADV’s plan for future growth and believes that the two firm aren’t a good fit culturally.

ADV disputes that and argues that current management, led by chairman Gareth Davis, has failed to properly nurture and grow the agency. It also notes that if its acquisition is completed it will have a number of Adland heavy hitters on its enlarged board including Christopher Sweetland, who was Deputy Group Finance director of WPP Group and Tamara Ingram, who was CEO and Chair of Saatchi and Saatchi UK as well as the global CEO of J Walter Thompson Worldwide.

In a response today Saatchi stated in a regulatory filing that it remains opposed to the ADV acquisition and that a more detailed response to ADV’s newly imposed share tender deadline will be forthcoming.