Last week S4 Capital announced a restructuring and brand overhaul for its flagship agency Media.monks which has now been dubbed just Monks. 

The restructuring, designed to simplify operations, includes a transition to two main practices—Marketing Services and Technology Services, both powered by the agency’s AI-driven workflow platform Monks.Flow.    

The makeover follows a Wall Street Journal report back in March that S4 received multiple acquisition offers including one from Stagwell. Although when S4 chief Martin Sorrell was asked about the offers shortly after the report on an investor call, he replied that the firm had received “no credible offer for the board to consider.” 

Anybody following this industry has to wonder if the overhaul is an attempt to attract a credible offer. 

S4 has had a rough 18 months. Things were seemingly humming along from a growth standpoint through 2022 with a rosy outlook for 2023 which the firm initially predicted would generate net organic growth of up to 12%.  

But then the situation quickly deteriorated. Instead of a 12% gain the company reported a 4.5% organic decline for 2023. The first quarter of this year also resulted in further declines and the company has indicated it expects an organic revenue shortfall for full year 2024. 

The news hasn’t been all bad. In June it won an assignment from General Motors to create customized content for the auto giant.  

But various reports have noted that the firm’s valuation has taken a big hit since its peak and last fall S&P Global downgraded its credit rating. That’s when the predators like to strike. 

And Sorrell, who had a cancer scare in the spring of last year isn’t getting any younger—he's now 79. The company hasn’t named an heir apparent but has indicated it is working on a succession plan.  

Maybe the overhaul is just what S4 says it is. And maybe it’s designed to get some would-be acquirers to pick up their pencils again.