WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell may have played a role in the failed Kraft/Unilever takeover bid (WPP, ULVR, KHC)

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February 24, 2017 2:54 PM

An email exchange between the advertising group's CEO and Unilever's CEO Paul Polman ended with the removal of PR Finsbury from consulting for Kraft Heinz.

WPP CEO Martin Sorrell momentarily found himself on both sides of Kraft Heinz's takeover bid of Unilever, according to a report from the Financial Times.

The public relations company Finsbury, acquired by WPP in 2001, was hired by Kraft Heinz to advise it on the takeover bid. But the consumer goods company on the other side of the bid, which owns brands like Dove and Axe, was already a WPP advertising client, to the tune of a $8.3 billion ad spend in 2014, according to AdAge.

According to the FT, the conflict quickly ended after Unilever CEO Paul Polman discovered it and sent an email complaining to Sorrell. Finsbury was removed from Kraft Heinz account after the exchange betweeen the two CEOs and replaced by the consulting firm FTI Consulting, the FT reported.

Unilever was represented by the independent PR firm Tulchan.

One PR executive told the FT: "I just don’t think anyone [at Finsbury] thought about the Unilever clash and because it all happened so quickly Martin [Sorrell] probably didn’t know what [Finsbury founder] Roland Rudd was doing."

This series of events highlights the conflicts of interest communication and advertising groups can potentially face as they expand.

In an interview with Bloomberg, WPP rival Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said: "Since a few years we are seeing some blurring lines when it comes to conflict of interest and sometimes it is going too far."

"When it comes to operations like a takeover, we have to be extremely clear to support a longtime client," he added.

Levy concluded: "I don’t know if it is true or not. I cannot believe that WPP have been able to work against Unilever. This is something which for me is unbelievable. So I don’t give a lot of credit to such a news because I cannot believe that this can happen."

WPP declined to comment on the FT report.

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