Next Fifteen sticks with final offer for M&C Saatchi takeover as battle lingers on

M&C Saatchi’s fate is now in the hands of its shareholders after Next Fifteen confirmed its final acquisition offer of 247.2p per M&C share.

Despite pressure from the advertising giant’s largest shareholder Vin Murria and her investment vehicle AdvancedAdvT, which own 22.3 per cent of shares, Next Fifteen said this morning it would not be increasing its offer price.

The final offer represents a premium of 49 per cent based on the closing price of 165p per M&C share on 19 May.

However, AdvancedAdvT notably demanded more clarity earlier this week on the terms of the bid, suggesting that share-price movements meant that Next Fifteen’s offer, as of June 1, had declined to 220.1p per M&C share, while their own all-share offer was worth 221.4p.

Muria was also notably booted off the board on Monday.

M&C investors are expected to vote on which offer to accept next week.

Both M&C and Next Fifteen share prices were down over two per cent.