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WPP explores sale of flagship PR agency Burson
Advertising giant considers exit from public relations amid restructuring drive.
MUMBAI: WPP is reportedly preparing to spin a new chapter by potentially spinning off one of its oldest storytellers. The British advertising and marketing services group is exploring a possible sale of its public relations arm Burson, with advisers at Goldman Sachs reviewing strategic options, according to a report by The Times. The move, if completed, would mark a near-complete exit from the PR sector for WPP and represent the first significant disposal under chief executive Cindy Rose, who is leading a broader effort to simplify the company’s structure and restore growth.
Burson was formed in 2024 through the merger of BCW and Hill & Knowlton. It employs around 6,000 people globally and forms the core of WPP’s remaining PR operations. A sale would follow the earlier divestment of a majority stake in FGS Global to KKR, a deal that valued that business at £1.3 billion.
The review comes as WPP continues to face pressure on its financial performance. In 2025, the company’s PR segment generated £667 million in revenue less pass-through costs, reflecting a 6.0 per cent like-for-like decline, and delivered £102 million in headline operating profit. The division has shrunk considerably after the FGS Global disposal in late 2024.
WPP reported full-year revenue of £13.55 billion in 2025, down 8.1 per cent on a reported basis, while headline operating profit fell 22.6 per cent and margins dropped to 13.0 per cent.
Rose’s Elevate28 strategy aims to move the company away from a traditional holding company model towards a more integrated organisation built around four divisions: media, creative, production, and enterprise solutions. The plan also targets £500 million in cost savings by 2028.
Both WPP and Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the report.
The advertising industry has seen growing speculation about the future of large publicly traded PR firms, with similar rumours swirling around Weber Shandwick and potential private equity interest in management buyouts. However, finding a suitable buyer for a large global legacy PR business remains a key challenge.
In the fast-changing world of marketing and communications, WPP appears keen to streamline its narrative and selling Burson could be the next dramatic plot twist in its transformation story.
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Three senior OpenAI infrastructure executives join Meta
Key members of Stargate project move to rival amid aggressive AI spending race.
MUMBAI: Three key architects of OpenAI’s ambitious data centre plans have switched sides and joined Meta Platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. Peter Hoeschele, who played a central role in OpenAI’s high-profile Stargate initiative, is among the new hires. He is joined by Shamez Hemani, who focused on computing strategy and business development, and Anuj Saharan, another leader in the computing organisation. The Information first reported their departure from OpenAI on Thursday.
The moves come as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend aggressively on AI infrastructure. The company is projecting capital expenditure of up to $135 billion this year alone, with hundreds of billions more expected before the end of the decade to support its Meta Superintelligence Labs and new models such as Muse Spark.
OpenAI, which is pushing ahead with massive data centre expansion, had described its early lead in securing computing power as a competitive advantage. Stargate, originally announced last year as a $500 billion venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, has since become an umbrella term for the company’s broader data centre ambitions. However, the project has seen recent adjustments, including a pause on its UK plans and the decision not to expand the Abilene, Texas site.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment, while Hoeschele, Hemani, and Saharan also declined to comment. OpenAI said it was grateful for the contributions of the three employees and remains focused on hiring talent for its infrastructure plans. The company recently brought in former Intel executive Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute efforts.
In the high-stakes race to build the future of artificial intelligence, talent is proving to be as valuable as computing power itself. Meta’s latest hires suggest the competition for top infrastructure minds is intensifying, even as OpenAI continues to scale its own ambitious projects. The move highlights how quickly the AI talent war is heating up across Silicon Valley.
