MAM
WPP acquires 61% stake in STW for $512 million
MUMBAI: STW Group, Australasia’s marketing content and communications services group, comprising over 75 operating companies, is all set to merge with WPP’s Australian and New Zealand businesses.
Martin Sorrell helmed WPP has acquired a 61 per cent controlling stake in STW for approximately $512 million, of which $387 million will be paid via new shares with STW assuming debt of $125 million.
Post the merger, STW CEO Michael Conaghan will continue in his current post and Robert Mactier will also remain chairman of the company.
Mactier said, “Bringing together the respective iconic brands and wonderfully talented people of STW and WPP Australia and New Zealand under a single common ownership and will unlock tremendous local and global capability, experience and efficiencies for our clients as well as establishing a fantastic platform for our people to prosper.”
“The transaction is EPS accretive as a result of the issue of new STW shares at a premium to market and also delivers a material reduction in STW’s leverage and the opportunity to unlock a range of synergies thereby creating significant value for our shareholders. Importantly, binding governance protocols and shareholder protections have been agreed for the benefit of the continuing minority stakeholders. I consider this a genuine win-win transaction for all our stakeholders. Post completion, we look forward to working seamlessly with WPP as our major shareholder and strategic partner as we embark on the exciting journey that is in front of us,” he further added.
Connaghan said, “To finally align our shareholdings in those existing partnerships (J Walter Thompson, Mindshare, Maxus and Added Value) and now to expand our relationships across the full STW and WPP Australia and New Zealand portfolio of companies is an amazing opportunity. WPP is the leading player on the global stage in our industry. We have the potential to create a group unparalleled in this part of the world, totally focussed on our home markets, but allowing our clients and people open access to the best thinking on a global level.”
Sorrell added, “The merger of our Australian and New Zealand operations with STW, will give us a unique opportunity to offer our local and international clients a comprehensive set of services and to make sure we can offer the best talent through country management. It will also enable STW to focus on the Australian and New Zealand markets, which it knows best, with a structure that will strongly incentivise its people.”
MAM
Collective Artists Network reshuffles talent leadership
Fiona D’Souza, Jinal Jhaveri and Arjun Banerjee take expanded roles in core division.
MUMBAI: Collective Artists Network just handed the talent baton to its homegrown stars because when your agents have been building careers this long, it’s time to let them run the show. Collective Artists Network has announced the next phase of leadership for its talent management business, elevating senior agents Fiona D’Souza, Jinal Jhaveri and Arjun Banerjee to expanded roles within the division. The move strengthens the company’s foundational talent arm while it continues to grow into content creation and production-led ventures.
Each of the three has played a significant part in shaping artist careers across films, digital platforms and brand partnerships. Together they now represent the next generation of leadership for Collective’s talent operations, with a continued focus on long-term career building, strong partnerships and adapting representation to a fast-changing media landscape.
Collective Artists Network founder and Group CEO Vijay Subramaniam remains actively involved in guiding artist strategy and key relationships. He said, “Talent management has been the foundation on which Collective was built, and that philosophy continues to guide how we grow the company. As we enter this next phase, it’s important that the people leading this business have both deep context and long-term convictions.”
Collective Artists Network partner and head of talent Janahavi Rawal added, “Collective’s talent business has always been built on trust, long-term thinking, and a deep understanding of where artists want to go next. Fiona, Jinal, and Arjun have each played an important role in shaping the careers of the artists we represent, and this phase is about empowering our senior agents further while building the right support systems around them.”
The leadership evolution reflects Collective’s belief in promoting from within and creating clear ownership across verticals. In a talent world where yesterday’s agent is tomorrow’s partner, Collective isn’t just reshuffling chairs, it’s handing the spotlight to the people who’ve been quietly directing the show all along.
