It is still unclear if Sir Martin Sorrell will want to proceed with his bid even if he receives the required number of acceptances, which he is almost certain to do so. Sir Martin was left with his 555p bid in place when French group Havas Advertising withdrew its offer as share prices collapsed on September 21.
WPP's bid values Tempus at £437m - far above Tempus' current post-collapse value of just £356m. This morning Tempus shares are trading at 437p and already 7.9% down on the day.
Sir Martin is legally bound by the offer, but because of the extraordinary background surrounding the deal, following the terrorist attacks in America, one suggestion is that he might appeal to City regulatory body The Takeover Panel to scrap the deal.
However, WPP might find this difficult as it upped its stake in Tempus to 26% just days before shares begin to crash. The group already owned 22% of Tempus, which it bought earlier this year at an average price of 220p. The additional shares were bought at 555p a share.
The Tempus management has already has recommended WPP's offer. They made their recommendation immediately following Havas' dramatic withdrawal from the race for the CIA-owning media group.
Last week Tempus reported its half-year pre-tax profits down 16% to £8.9m as a result of waning confidence in the media sector.
Chris Ingram, chairman of Tempus said, "While the current trading environment is still difficult, we are confident the investment we have made both in our network and in attracting and retaining high-quality people will further enhance our competitiveness."
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