Advisers: UBS (Cordiant); Goldman Sachs (WPP)
Deal size: £276 million
Date announced: August 1 2003
Buying debt to acquire a business might be slightly more common in Europe these days, but advertising agency WPP’s use of such a strategy to acquire rival Cordiant Communications was an unusually tough deal.
The story begins at the end of April. Cordiant had been working with its creditors to restructure its debt, and was close to a deal. It had worked out a programme of disposals to reduce debt and agreed to raise new equity to refinance the business.
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