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Verein Members Speak Out on GfK Merger Plan
The proposed 'merger of equals' of GfK and TNS faces political opposition in Germany, reports suggest, with some German local authorities represented in the company's majority shareholding 'Verein' saying they will oppose the deal at next Friday's key meeting.
Reports in UK paper the Independent (www.independent.co.uk ) say several of the GfK-Verein's leading members - including Nuremberg City Council and the Bavarian state government - have indicated opposition to the merger and its potential German job losses.
The approval of the Verein, GfK's majority shareholder with 57% of stock, is needed for the merger to proceed, but its own rules mean more than 25% of the Verein's 571 members would have to oppose the deal to block it - the firms will fear, however, that the publicly stated opposition of the two groups could encourage other dissenting voices.
Verein leader Hajo Riesenbeck, also the Chairman of GfK, backs the merger and the company says it is still confident of getting the support it needs.
TNS this week sent shareholders a document giving further details of the proposed merger, and confirming a meeting on July 18th to discuss the deal.
The firms first announced they were in talks in April, since when TNS has rejected two bids from competitor Martin Sorrell's WPP. Last week, TNS handed further data to Sorrell following repeated requests from the latter to create a level playing field for the proposals.
Web sites: www.gfk.com , www.tnsglobal.com and www.wpp.com .
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