WPP PLC

WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, said it will restate its financial statements for 2017, 2018 and 2019 as some aspects were not fully in line with the accounting requirements.

WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, expects business to recover in 2021 but needs first to get through what could be a difficult six months up to the end of the first quarter, Chief Executive Mark Read said on Friday.

WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, on Monday named former Baidu Inc president Ya-Qin Zhang as a non-executive director, adding technological heft as it grapples with rising competition from digital marketing.

WPP became one of the first major British companies to reinstate its dividend on Thursday, after cost cuts paid off and the world's biggest advertising company won work to help customers market new expanded e-commerce models.

The world's biggest advertising company WPP beat dire forecasts for second-quarter underlying net sales, declared an interim dividend and said it was on track for cost saving targets as it sought to weather the COVID pandemic.

London's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday as a slate of upbeat quarterly earnings reports bolstered optimism about a post-pandemic corporate rebound, with Unilever surging after reporting a much lower drop in sales than feared.

WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, said net sales fell 3.3% in the first quarter, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic dragging it down by 7.9% in March alone, prompting it to cut more costs.

The world's biggest advertising company WPP has pulled its dividend and share buyback and withdrawn its 2020 guidance after the coronavirus pandemic sparked the most uncertain time in its 35-year history.

WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, said it was pulling its dividend and share buyback, and withdrawing its guidance for 2020 after it saw an increasing volume of cancellations from clients. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Friday:

WPP is selling a 60% stake in Kantar to private equity firm Bain Capital, valuing the data analytics business at about $4 billion and giving the British owner of agencies including Ogilvy and Wunderman Thompson funds to cut debt and rebuild.

* Bain Capital's proposal is subject to negotiation - WPP (Adds context on PE deals)

WPP has entered exclusive talks with private equity firm Bain Capital over the sale of a majority stake in its data analytics unit Kantar, the world's biggest advertising company said on Monday. (Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)

WPP Plc said it sold its minority stake in sports, entertainment and communications company Chime for 54.4 million pounds ($68.91 million), as the world's biggest advertising company looks to sell non-core assets and return to growth.

Private equity fund Vista Equity Partners has emerged as one of four U.S. bidders vying for a majority stake in WPP's data analytics firm Kantar, two sources close to the deal told Reuters.

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:

The world's biggest advertising company WPP suffered a sharp drop in first-quarter underlying sales in North America as the loss of work from clients such as Ford took a toll on its most important market.

The world's biggest advertising company WPP reported an 8.5 percent slump in first-quarter underlying sales in North America, its biggest market, due to client losses that held the overall group back.

WPP Plc, the world's biggest advertising company, said on Tuesday it appointed Microsoft Corp's UK chief executive officer, Cindy Rose, as a non-executive director.