A new study has revealed that 2021 was a good year to be a shareholder in the five biggest media companies in the world.
The study, by financial media and data company Bloomberg and US trade site Campaign, showed the likes of Interpublic (IPG), WPP and Publicis shook off their 2020 COVID woes and reported a serious uptick in the share price.
According to the results, the New York-based IPG was the standout performer, its share price rising 59 per cent in 2021 to $US37.60 ($A52.16).
Next best was Paris-based Publicis Groupe, whose share price rose 45 per cent and ended the year at €59.20 ($A93.67).
London-based WPP was up 40 per cent to £11.20 ($A21.20) and New York-based Omnicom was up 17 per cent, its share price finishing the year at $US73.70 ($A102.23).
According to Bloomberg’s numbers, the top four media companies now boast a combined value of $US65 billion ($A90 billion).
Tokyo-based Dentsu posted a share price rise of 34 per cent for the year. Havas – which is owned by French media giant Vivendi – is not listed on the stock market.
It was equally good news for the smaller players too. Sorrell’s S4 Capital continued its meteoric rise, the share price up 26 per cent in 2022.
London-based M&C Saatchi – who’s currently rumoured to be a potential takeover by tech tycoon Vin Murria – doubled its share price to £1.68 ($A3.18).
WPP remains the most valuable of the media companies with a market capitalisation of £12.9 billion ($A24.4 billion). Publicis is second at €15 billion ($A23.7 billion) and IPG third at $14.75 billion ($A20.46 billion).
