very intresting link about sell of Kantar to Bain (private equity). after reading this you will see that a takeover of engagement labs is becoming more and more likely:
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/06/19/kantar-ceo-how-private-equity-sale-will-help-deliver-speed-and-scale-clients "We’ve got to know them (private equity) pretty well and they’re people who share an ambition for growth. They want to grow Kantar and scale it and they want to make it a much more tech-driven business in every aspect.”
"Now as it primes for a sale it has doubled down on its AI capabilities, investing in new features for clients it claims will help them “more efficiently and accurately build and measure campaigns that have a global impact”.
"Post-sale, he (Kantar CEO) said, the focus will be on investing in technology that allows the business to work harder, better and faster for clients. And a private equity sale, he believes, will see Kantar’s own model and processes evolve faster."
“We’re headed in the same direction that we're going in at the moment, but we [want to] just go there much, much faster,” he explained."
“So in terms of acquiring new capabilities, investing to scale things up and fusing technology – all of that is easier in the private market context with a different type of owner than it is when you’re a public company.”