Ad giant WPP PLC (LON:WPP) has threatened to strip founder and former boss Martin Sorrell of his £20mln worth of future share awards.
Dutch digital creative agency MediaMonks is at the centre of the row, with both WPP and Sorrell’s new venture S4 Capital rumoured to be bidding for it.
READ: Sorrell and WPP set to go head-to-head
The world’s largest advertising and marketing company has now reportedly written to Sorrell’s lawyers, claiming that he is likely to breach his confidentiality obligations if he presses ahead with the £180mln bid.
It wasn’t thought that the 73-year-old, who stepped down in April following an investigation into personal misconduct allegations, would look to compete with his old employer for fear of missing out on the lucrative payouts over the coming years.
But an unnamed source quoted by the BBC said: “If WPP is going to start some sort of procedural process, Sir Martin will fight it. But this guy is worth £400mln to £500mln. He is not going to allow £20mln to stand in the way what he is trying to do.”
READ: Sorrell retires after internal probe
Sorrell, who didn’t have a non-compete clause in his WPP contract, set up S4 with £40mln of his own money and non-binding commitments from institutions to arm him with a further £150mln.
WPP shares rose 1.1% to 1,187p in early deals on Thursday.