WPP Will Pay Martin Sorrell More Than 2 Million Pounds in Shares as Part of Long-Term Bonus
March 14 2019 - 1:28PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
WPP PLC said it would pay its former Chief Executive Martin
Sorrell shares worth more than 2 million pounds, or $2.65 million,
as part of his long-term bonus, despite having threatened to
withhold the payment, according to a person familiar with the
matter.
The decline of WPP's shares over the past two years left Mr.
Sorrell with about a third of the maximum payment granted under the
company's long-term bonus program. An independent legal review
commissioned by the company's board found there was no basis for
withholding the payment, the person said.
That amounts to an about-face for WPP which has frequently
sparred with Mr. Sorrell since he left the firm last year.
WPP's lawyers wrote to Mr. Sorrell's lawyers in July to warn him
that he was "likely to be in breach of his confidentiality
undertakings" over his pursuit of digital production company
MediaMonks, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The
letter stated that Mr. Sorrell could lose share awards worth
millions of pounds that were part of his long-term incentive
program with WPP.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 14, 2019 13:13 ET (17:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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