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TNS Rejects New WPP Offer
WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has increased his offer for TNS from £948m to £996m (($1.9bn), but has been rejected for a second time by the market research group's Board.
Sorrell made his initial bid last week, following the announcement that TNS and GfK were in merger discussions to create the world's second-largest market and information group.
TNS said the new WPP bid - made up of 164p in cash and 0.1214 WPP shares for each TNS share - is still not in shareholders' best interests. Chairman Donald Brydon added that the Board had 'unanimously rejected' the revised proposal, which the Board believes substantially undervalues the company even on a standalone basis.
The Board reiterated that, as previously announced, the combination of TNS and GfK would deliver 'significant value' to TNS's shareholders.
'Significant progress has been made on the work to confirm the quantum of the merger benefits and it is expected that a further announcement on these benefits and the key merger terms will be made shortly', the Board said in a statement.
WPP's market research arm Kantar comprises a network of agencies which includes Millward Brown, Research International, BMRB, and Lightspeed Research.
Web sites: www.wpp.com , www.kantargroup.com , www.tnsglobal.com and www.gfk.com .
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