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WPP’s Millward Brown buys out Cadem Advertising
MUMBAI: WPP‘s global research agency Millward Brown has acquired Chilean consumer insights company Cadem Advertising.
Millward Brown is a global company focused on brands, media and communications. It is part of Kantar Group, the insights arm of WPP plc.
Founded in 1997, Cadem has operated as a licensee of Millward Brown for many years providing brand tracking, quantitative and qualitative research services.
According to the official communiqué, Cadem employs 87 people and key clients include Coca-Cola, Falabella Retail, Nestle, Telefonica and Unilever. Its unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately $6.55 million with gross assets of approximately $2.66 million.
This acquisition continues WPP‘s strategy of investing in fast growing markets and sectors and its commitment to developing its strategic networks throughout Latin America. The Group collectively employs (including associates) 15,000 people with revenues of $1.5 billion in Latin America.
Post acquisition, Cadem Advertising will become Millward Brown Chile, and, consequently, Millward Brown will consolidate its operations in Latin America, by being present in the entire region, with offices in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Central America.
Millward Brown Latin America CEO Fabian Hernandez said, “This acquisition is helping us to leverage our business as the most important market research company in the region. Through our presence and service throughout Latin America and by offering excellence in our methodologies and analysis, we are consolidating ourselves as strategic partners for our clients in their market research and brand, media and communication consulting projects in Latin America.”
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Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
