UK-based advertising and marketing company WPP, is looking to increase its stake in India-based advertising agency Rediffusion Y&R India to 87%, according to the Economic Times .
WPP has been trying to increase its ownership of Rediffusion since 2002.Two undisclosed sources told ET that WPP, which already owns 26.7% of Rediffusion, are in talks to buy a further 60% from founders Arun Nanda and Ajit Balakrishnan. Japanese advertising company Dentsu would own the remaining 13.33%.
Speaking to the paper Arun Nanda, chairman and managing director of Rediffusion Y&R, said: “There has been no sale of any shares to WPP, nor any agreement to sell concluded.”
However, one unnamed WPP executive said, based on some public observations that Rediffusion ‘has lost some of its sheen’, that the additional 60% share would cost around Rs 1.5bn – Rs 2bn ($24.9m – $33.2m).