Martin Sorrell’s US suitor says no to second swoop

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Mark Penn, a former adviser to Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, said it would have been a “good pairing”

Mark Penn, the American advertising executive who made a bid for Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital, has played down the chances of another offer, saying his rival’s business “continues to deteriorate” and is “certainly less attractive”.

Penn, the boss of Stagwell, and a former adviser to Bill Clinton and Sir Tony Blair, confirmed that his approach for S4 had been rebuffed.

“There was a moment where we made very significant offers for S4,” he said. “They would have been a good pairing because it would have extended, I think, some of the services that Martin was building.” But he added: “Martin didn’t see it that way.”

Martin Sorrell

S4 has been linked with several suitors as its share price fell in recent years.

Founded by Sorrell in 2018, after he was effectively ousted from WPP, S4’s market value topped £4.5 billion in 2021 but it is currently worth £142 million.

The Wall Street Journal wrote last year that Stagwell offered about $700 million (£518 million). It is understood that Sorrell, who has voting control at S4, did not view Penn’s overtures as credible.

This month S4 confirmed it had received a proposal over a “possible combination” with MSQ Partners, a London agency. MSQ said the speculation was surprising and that it did not “intend to pursue further discussions”.

S4 is not the only advertising holding business to have suffered on the stock market. Investors are concerned about potential disruption to market services from artificial intelligence.

Stagwell’s shares have almost halved from their 2021 peak and WPP, valued at nearly £24 billion in 2016, today has a market capitalisation of £4.3 billion.

First speaking to The Sunday Times earlier this summer in Cannes, Penn also talked about Stagwell’s work to stop the “brand safety movement” from overzealously blocking advertising on news websites.

S4 declined to respond to Penn’s comments.