Private equity firms reportedly eye Kantar Media

The newspaper reported at the weekend that private equity firms were eyeing a deal for Kantar Media, with the newspaper reporting that Kurt Geiger owner Cinven and London private equity business Triton Partners were among those interested.

The Sunday Times said that a potential deal, should it go through, could be worth ‘around £1bn’ and could also pave the way for the sale of the wider Kantar Group.

Kantar is jointly owned by private equity company Bain Capital and advertising firm WPP, with Kantar having been founded as WPP’s market research division in 1992.

WPP sold a 60% stake in Kantar Group to Bain Capital in 2019 that valued the company at around £3.2bn.

Kantar Media, WPP, Kantar, Cinven and Triton Partners did not comment on The Sunday Times claims when approached for comment by Research Live. Research Live also approached Bain Capital for comment.