WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is understood to have asked to see the last two months' worth of Tempus financial data to help decide whether to seek a way out of its 555p-a share bid for the CIA-owning firm.
Tempus chairman Chris Ingram has denied WPP's request to see the data, saying it could not give sensitive data to WPP, which is still a rival company. Last week, WPP received the equivalent of 93.9% backing for its £432m bid from Tempus shareholders.
WPP is believed to be considering using the "material adverse change" rule and appealing to City regulator, the Takeover Panel, to allow it out of the deal by arguing that the situation has changed significantly following the dramatic fall in world markets after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
Profits at Tempus are believed to have fallen considerably in the last two months, although its share price has maintained its artificially high value. Tempus's share price rocketed following the 541p bid by Havas Advertising in July.
Tempus shares rose from 360p to over 590p at one stage, but have since lost ground along with other media stocks since markets dramatically fell. Havas pulled its offer after the attack in the US and Tempus immediately urged its shareholders to accept the WPP offer.
This morning, Tempus stock is trading at 495p, still considerably off from the 555p a share WPP could find itself paying if it can not get out of the deal. WPP is trading at 471.5p, down 3.4%.
Any WPP attempt to use the "adverse material change" rule could be damaged by its purchase of a further 3% of Tempus stock after September 11. This raised its stake in Tempus from the 22% it bought earlier this year to 26%.
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