Richard Wheatly, the former Jazz FM and Leo Burnett chief who is being put forward by Active Value as a new chairman, said yesterday after meeting with Cordiant and its advisers that details of the deal would be announced soon.
Wheatley said that the Active Value bid had more in it for everyone apart from WPP, which he said was trying to get Cordiant as a "cheap buy".
The new of the WPP bid pushed Cordiant's share price down more than 28% last week, which is where they continue to languish.
WPP is thought to be very close to announcing its £100m deal to acquire Cordiant and has held talks with Publicis Groupe, which was the other lead buyer.
It is thought the talks centred on WPP selling Publicis Cordiant's 25% stake in ZenithOptimedia, giving the French group 100% control of the media buying group.
However, Active Value's bid is dependent on financial figures being released to it, which Cordiant has so far failed to do despite saying that it was cooperating. This, Active Value argues, is part of the Cordiant management team's effort to sell the company to a rival advertising holding company.
Wheatly expressed dismay to the Financial Times, telling the paper that "the blinkers are firmly on" the management of Cordiant, who are committed to selling the struggling ad group to WPP or Publicis.
Active Value alleges that chief executive Daivd Hearn and the Cordiant management team are being "incentivised to sell the business to a third party" rather than restore it to profitability and go it alone.
Wheatly also warned that Bates Worldwide, Cordiant's main advertising agency network, was in danger of disappearing off the map.
It was account losses at Bates, chiefly Diageo, that precipitated the current round of crises. Bates has lost a string of accounts in the UK including Royal Mail and Woolworths, with B&Q set to follow.
In the US, its Irvine, California office was forced to close after the loss of Hyundai. Wheatly said that Bates had almost "disappeared off the map " in the US and had lost its edge as a retail agency in the UK.
Active Value has asked for an extraordinary general meeting of Cordiant shareholders to vote on a plan, which would see the existing management ousted and replaced by a team including Wheatly and former Telewest chief executive Stephen Davidson. Cordiant has so far not set a date for such an EGM.
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