Acxiom receives takeover approach as board starts cutting costs

LONDON – Acxiom is the subject of an unsolicited $1.97bn (£1.13bn) takeover bid from one of its shareholders, ValueAct Capital Partners, as it embarks on a cost-cutting drive following a fall in profits.

The board of the US-headquartered company has said it is reviewing the offer from the investment specialist.

The takevover bid follows criticism of Acxiom's management from ValueAct's managing partner, Jeffery Ubben. ValueAct originally wrote to the Acxiom board in June to complain that shareholder value was not what it should be. ValueAct owns 10% of Acxiom's shares.

Last week Acxiom announced that it had decided to cut 4%, or $16m annually, from its payroll costs because its first quarter performance was not up to expectations.

An Acxiom spokesman in the UK confirmed that 250 jobs were set to be cut worldwide, out of a total of around 6,000, in non-revenue generating areas. There were no details available of how many UK jobs would be cut.

According to company leader Charles Morgan, the European operations did not perform as expected in the quarter ending June 30.

"In the US, our first-quarter revenues grew 13% year over year – 8% adjusting for acquisitions – but our European business experienced revenue erosion that led to a reduction of approximately $4m in profit compared to the first quarter a year ago," he said.

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