GfK 'Talks to Apax' while TNS Explains WPP Rejection

GfK is reportedly in talks with private equity house Apax Partners about funding a cash bid for TNS, which last night outlined in a shareholder document why its Board had rejected WPP's most recent hostile bid.

GfK needs to find more than $2.15bn to trump Sir Martin Sorrell's firm's £1.1bn cash and shares offer for TNS, which includes an option to sell TNS' television monitoring arm TAM to Ipsos.

GfK, which is also in talks with coffee billionaire siblings Günter and Daniela Herz, said last week that discussions to raise funds for a rival bid were 'progressing positively'.

TNS last night told shareholders its reasons for rejecting the WPP bid, worth 267p at Tuesday's closing price of 497p. They include TNS's position as a market leader, its investment in the Internet, strong performance in 2007, and that previous acquisitions in the sector have valued target companies substantially higher.

TNS CEO David Lowden, told the Financial Times that attempts to find more potential bidders have stalled because of a general reluctance to challenge Sorrell.

'In general people see the strength and value of TNS but they also see in WPP somebody with a very strategic reason to buy TNS and perhaps the ability to increase their price,' Lowden stated. 'A lot of people don't want to get into a bidding situation.'

Lowden added that after abandoning the proposed merger of equals with GfK, it was his firm's responsibility to see if there was other interest in the marketplace.

Web sites: www.gfk.com , www.tnsglobal.com , www.wpp.com and www.apax.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.