Dutch research and publishing conglomerate VNU Thursday enlisted a new tool in its battle to convince shareholders to support a $9 billion buyout offer from a group of private equity firms:
Advertising. VNU, the parent of Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen and various trade publications, placed a one-page ad in the
Wall Street Journal, the
Financial Times and Dutch
newspapers calling on shareholders to support the deal, asserting, "It was eminently clear that the offer was superior to the alternatives." VNU has until May 5 to garner support for the deal, but
some key shareholders, especially institutional investor Knight Vinke Asset Management, oppose it.