August 13, 2025  |  SIGN UP

Michael Bürgi
SENIOR EDITOR, MEDIA BUYING AND PLANNING

It came as a bit of a surprise when news broke last weekend of a proposed acquisition of MSQ by none other than S4 Capital, run by Sir Martin Sorrell. Most of the industry thought S4 was vulnerable to a takeover, given its precipitous stock drop. Regardless of who buys who, there are a few interesting things to note here, some good, some less good.

MSQ's management, starting with chairman Charles Courtier but also including executive directors Joanna Lyalls and Bart Michels, are all vets of some part of WPP when Sorrell still ran it, so there's familiarity there. That could be a good thing. They also seem to have little overlap in client bases, making them complementary and avoiding conflict.

More up in the air is the question of cultural fit. MSQ chose to leave its agency brands to stand while S4 mashed up its acquisitions into Monks. How that will get figured out remains to be seen.  And finally, back to stock price. As of this posting, following an immediate surge, the stock continues to sit largely where it was before the proposed acquisition — very very cheap. 

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