M&C Saatchi rejects ‘undervalued’ Brave Bison bid for performance arm

M&C Saatchi has responded to reports that Brave Bison made a $67 million bid to acquire its performance arm, M&C Saatchi Performance.

In a statement to the stock market on November 3, the board of M&C Saatchi confirmed it had received an “unsolicited approach” from Brave Bison to buy the division, but said the offer “fundamentally undervalues” the business and “does not reflect the future prospects for the division, which forms a core element of the company's growth plans”.

It confirmed that it was not in discussion with Brave Bison about the acquisition.

Sky News first reported on the offer on Sunday (November 2), and the $67 million bid has since been confirmed by Brave Bison in its own statement to the market.

Brave Bison stated its intent was to combine M&C Saatchi Performance with its own existing performance marketing capabilities, creating what it believed “would be one of the largest independent performance marketing companies outside the US with a market-leading presence in the UK and APAC”.

M&C Saatchi Performance accounts for the majority of net revenue generated by M&C Saatchi’s media division, which, for 2024, was reported at $35.2 million, up 8% on 2023.

Should the deal go through, Brave Bison added: “M&C Saatchi Performance would be expected to contribute a minimum of $10.5 million in adjusted EBITDA, increasing the enlarged Brave Bison pro-forma adjusted EBITDA by over 80% to $22.31 million.”

Brave Bison made a bid to acquire Mission Group, owner of creative agency Krow and several other specialist agencies, last year and rescinded its pursuit after two bids were rejected.

In April this year, it acquired The Fifth Group, the influencer marketing division of News UK, which resulted in News UK taking a 3.1% stake in Brave Bison.