WPP Plans to Sell Up to 80% Stake of Kantar, CFO Says

By Adria Calatayud

BARCELONA--WPP PLC (WPP.LN) plans to sell a stake of up to 80% in its market-research unit Kantar, as it readies a turnaround plan to address its recent weak performance, Chief Financial Officer Paul Richardson said Thursday.

Last month, the world's largest advertising group said it would seek to sell a majority stake in Kantar and retain a minority holding in the unit. The size of WPP's remaining stake in Kantar would range from 20% to 49% depending on the price, Mr. Richardson said at a Morgan Stanley conference in Barcelona.

The company has identified further, smaller disposal targets and is working to offload them in a bid to cut its debt-to-earnings ratio, WPP's CFO said.

A third of WPP's business faces structural challenges, Mr. Richardson said. To adjust to current demands from customers, the company needs to shift away from a structure of global networks to service big campaigns and be closer to consumers, emphasize its real-time activity and be cheaper for clients, he said.

The company has found that its structure is becoming an issue, WPP's CFO said.

WPP already owns strong digital-content assets and therefore doesn't need to buy more, Mr. Richardson said. One of its priorities going forward will be to integrate those digital assets with traditional creative activities, he said.

In September, WPP merged its creative agency Young & Rubicam with its digital-ad firm VML and the group is due to unveil a new strategy on Dec. 11.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 15, 2018 13:14 ET (18:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.