On the Record · WPP
WPP acquisitions, on the record
The businesses WPP bought and sold, as its annual reports describe them, with the cash it reported paying for acquisitions each year and every deal filing since 2016.
Deals its annual reports describe
| Business | Deal | When | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc. (now known as Young & Rubicam LLC)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
Tempus Group plc (Tempus)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
Cordiant Communications Group plc (Cordiant)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
Grey Global Group, LLC (Grey)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
24/7 Real Media Inc (subsequently known as Xaxis LLC and now part of Choreograph LLC)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
Taylor Nelson Sofres plc (TNS)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
AKQA Holdings, Inc. (AKQA)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
IBOPE Participações Ltda (IBOPE)Word for word“Since then, the Company has grown both organically and by the acquisition of companies, most significantly the acquisitions of J. Walter Thompson Group, Inc.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | — | — |
VML and Y&R (merged to create VMLY&R)Word for word“During 2018, the Company focused on simplifying its organisation with the completion of the merger of VML and Y&R to create VMLY&R as well as the merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe to create Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW).” 20-F for 2023 | merger | — | — |
Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe (to create Burson Cohn & Wolfe)Word for word“During 2018, the Company focused on simplifying its organisation with the completion of the merger of VML and Y&R to create VMLY&R as well as the merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe to create Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW).” 20-F for 2023 | merger | 2018 | — |
Wunderman and J. Walter Thompson (to create Wunderman Thompson)Word for word“The merger of Wunderman and J. Walter Thompson to create Wunderman Thompson began at the end of 2018 and was finalized in 2019.” 20-F for 2023 | merger | 2019 | — |
60% of the Kantar groupWord for word“In December 2019, the Company sold 60% of the Kantar group to Bain Capital Private Equity.” 20-F for 2023 | divestiture | December 2019 | — |
remaining shares in WPP AUNZ Limited (WPP AUNZ)Word for word“In May 2021, WPP completed the acquisition of the remaining shares in WPP AUNZ Limited (WPP AUNZ) by way of a scheme of arrangement.” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | May 2021 | — |
AKQA and Grey (combined to form the AKQA Group)Word for word“During 2021, AKQA and Grey were combined to form the AKQA Group, Geometry moved into VMLY&R to create VMLY&R Commerce and the specialist agency GTB became part of VMLY&R.” 20-F for 2023 | merger | 2021 | — |
Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co. (combined as FGS Global)Word for word“In December 2021, the Company announced the completion of the merger of Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co., with the combined entity being rebranded as FGS Global in 2022.” 20-F for 2023 | merger | December 2021 | — |
Essence and Mediacom (to form EssenceMediacom)Word for word“Effective in January 2023, Essence and Mediacom merged to form EssenceMediacom and Design Bridge and Superunion merged to create Design Bridge and Partners.” 20-F for 2023 | merger | January 2023 | — |
Design Bridge and Superunion (to create Design Bridge and Partners)Word for word“Effective in January 2023, Essence and Mediacom merged to form EssenceMediacom and Design Bridge and Superunion merged to create Design Bridge and Partners.” 20-F for 2023 | merger | January 2023 | — |
VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson (to create VML)Word for word“In October 2023, we announced the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to create VML, the world's largest creative agency, which was effective in January 2024.” 20-F for 2023 | agreed acquisition | effective in January 2024 | — |
BCW and Hill & Knowlton (to create Burson)Word for word“In January 2024 WPP announced the merger of BCW and Hill & Knowlton to create Burson, which is effective in July 2024.” 20-F for 2023 | agreed acquisition | effective in July 2024 | — |
Portion of ownership of FGS sold to KKRWord for word“During 2023, WPP sold a portion of its ownership of FGS to KKR.” 20-F for 2023 | divestiture | 2023 | — |
Astus AustraliaWord for word“Gains on disposal of investments and subsidiaries of £ 7.1 million in 2023 includes a gain of £ 18.1 million related to net receipts from the prior disposal of Kantar, offset primarily by losses on disposals of £ 11.0 million including disposal of the Group's investment in Astus Australia.” 20-F for 2023 | divestiture | 2023 | — |
Russian interestsWord for word“Losses on disposal of investments and subsidiaries of £ 36.3 million in 2022 primarily included a loss of £ 63.1 million on the divestment of the Group's Russian interests which completed in May 2022.” 20-F for 2023 | divestiture | May 2022 | — |
Res PublicaWord for word“This was partially offset by gains on other disposals during the period including Res Publica for £ 17.7 million and Mutual Mobile for £ 9.4 million with the remaining gains/losses due to individually insignificant transactions.” 20-F for 2023 | divestiture | — | — |
Mutual MobileWord for word“This was partially offset by gains on other disposals during the period including Res Publica for £ 17.7 million and Mutual Mobile for £ 9.4 million with the remaining gains/losses due to individually insignificant transactions.” 20-F for 2023 | divestiture | — | — |
Satalia (AI research firm)Word for word“by building on our leadership position in the application of artificial intelligence through the acquisition of the AI research firm Satalia in 2021” 20-F for 2023 | acquisition | 2021 | — |
FGS GlobalWord for word“The Company sold its majority shareholding in FGS Global to KKR in December 2024.” 20-F for 2024 | divestiture | December 2024 | — |
Kantar group (60% stake)Word for word“In December 2019, the Company sold 60% of the Kantar group to Bain Capital Private Equity.” 20-F for 2024 | divestiture | In December 2019 | — |
VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson (to create VML)Word for word“Effective 1 January 2024, the Company merged VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson to create VML, and merged BCW and Hill & Knowlton to create Burson, which formally completed on 1 July 2024.” 20-F for 2024 | merger | Effective 1 January 2024 | — |
BCW and Hill & Knowlton (to create Burson)Word for word“Effective 1 January 2024, the Company merged VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson to create VML, and merged BCW and Hill & Knowlton to create Burson, which formally completed on 1 July 2024.” 20-F for 2024 | merger | — | — |
remaining shares in WPP AUNZ LimitedWord for word“In May 2021, WPP completed the acquisition of the remaining shares in WPP AUNZ Limited (WPP AUNZ) by way of a scheme of arrangement.” 20-F for 2024 | acquisition | May 2021 | — |
Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co (FGS Global)Word for word“In December 2021, the Company completed the merger of Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co. and the combined entity was rebranded as FGS Global in 2022.” 20-F for 2024 | merger | December 2021 | — |
Cognitive Logic Inc. ("InfoSum")Word for word“In April 2025, the Company acquired 100% of the ordinary share capital of Cognitive Logic Inc. (“InfoSum”), a data collaboration platform.” 20-F for 2025 | acquisition | April 2025 | — |
Read from WPP’s annual reports (20-F for 2025, 20-F for 2024, 20-F for 2023) and the financial data it files with the SEC, as of 2026-03-19. Every quotation is word for word from the filing linked beside it; how these pages are built and checked. The full record is in its company data sheet.