UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 6-K
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Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the Month of April 2025
Commission File Number: 001-38303
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WPP plc
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
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Sea Containers, 18 Upper Ground
London, United Kingdom SE1 9GL
(Address of principal executive offices)
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Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form
20-F X Form 40-F
___
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ___
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the
submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an
attached annual report to security holders.
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ___
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the
submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report
or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must
furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which
the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the
registrant’s “home country”), or under the rules
of the home country exchange on which the registrant’s
securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is
not a press release, is not required to be and has not been
distributed to the registrant’s security holders, and, if
discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form
6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.
Forward-Looking Statements
The
Company may include forward-looking statements (including as
defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995) in oral or written public statements issued by or on behalf
of the Company. These forward-looking statements may include, among
other things, plans, objectives, beliefs, intentions, strategies,
projections and anticipated future economic performance based on
assumptions and the like that are subject to risks and
uncertainties. These statements can be identified by the fact that
they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They
use words such as ‘aim’, ‘anticipate’,
‘believe’, ‘estimate’,
‘expect’, ‘forecast’,
‘guidance’, ‘intend’, ‘may’,
‘will’, ‘should’, ‘potential’,
‘possible’, ‘predict’,
‘project’, ‘plan’, ‘target’,
and other words and similar references to future periods but are
not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. As such,
all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because
they relate to future events and circumstances that are beyond the
control of the Company. Actual results or outcomes may differ
materially from those discussed or implied in the forward-looking
statements. Therefore, you should not rely on such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, as a
prediction of actual results or otherwise. Important factors which
may cause actual results to differ include but are not limited to:
the unanticipated loss of a material client or key personnel;
delays, suspensions or reductions in client advertising budgets;
shifts in industry rates of compensation; regulatory compliance
costs or litigation; changes in competitive factors in the
industries in which we operate and demand for our products and
services; changes in client advertising, marketing and corporate
communications requirements; our inability to realise the future
anticipated benefits of acquisitions; failure to realise our
assumptions regarding goodwill and indefinite lived intangible
assets; natural disasters or acts of terrorism; the Company’s
ability to attract new clients; the economic and geopolitical
impact of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; the risk of
global economic downturn; slower growth, increasing interest rates
and high and sustained inflation; tariffs and other trade barriers;
supply chain issues affecting the distribution of our
clients’ products; technological changes and risks to the
security of IT and operational infrastructure, systems, data and
information resulting from increased threat of cyber and other
attacks; effectively managing the risks, challenges and
efficiencies presented by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
Generative AI technologies and partnerships in our business; risks
related to our environmental, social and governance goals and
initiatives, including impacts from regulators and other
stakeholders, and the impact of factors outside of our control on
such goals and initiatives; the Company’s exposure to changes
in the values of other major currencies (because a substantial
portion of its revenues are derived and costs incurred outside of
the UK); and the overall level of economic activity in the
Company’s major markets (which varies depending on, among
other things, regional, national and international political and
economic conditions and government regulations in the world’s
advertising markets). In addition, you should consider the risks
described in Item 3D, captioned “Risk Factors” in the
Group’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, which could
also cause actual results to differ from forward-looking
information. In light of these and other uncertainties, the
forward-looking statements included in this document should not be
regarded as a representation by the Company that the
Company’s plans and objectives will be achieved. Neither the
Company, nor any of its directors, officers or employees, provides
any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of
any events anticipated, expressed or implied in any forward-looking
statements will actually occur. Other than in accordance with its
legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse
Regulation, the UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure and
Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority), the Company
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit
No.
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Description
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1
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WPP Acquires InfoSum dated 03
April 2025, prepared by WPP plc.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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3 April 2025
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WPP Acquires InfoSum in Major Investment in its AI-Driven Data
Offer
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Acquisition marks major strategic step forward for WPP's AI-driven
data offer, transforming the breadth and scale of data intelligence
for WPP clients and leapfrogging traditional identity-based
solutions
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Allows WPP's clients to maximize the value of their first-party
data with privacy-enhancing connections to data providers and media
partners, powering campaigns across the entire marketing
ecosystem
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Embeds an AI-enabled, safe and secure infrastructure within WPP
Open for data-driven marketing and AI model training for WPP and
its clients
WPP today announced the acquisition of InfoSum, the world's leading
data collaboration platform. InfoSum will join GroupM, WPP's media
investment group, to power the creation of a new generation of
AI-enhanced marketing solutions for clients, delivered through the
industry's most powerful and secure data
infrastructure.
The acquisition is a major strategic step forward for WPP's
AI-driven data offer, giving WPP and its clients immediate access
to the industry's largest cross-platform source of privacy-safe,
actionable data for marketing intelligence, audience targeting, and
AI model training.
InfoSum's patented cross-cloud data collaboration technology
radically transforms the way companies generate audience
intelligence by making it possible to connect data sources across
the marketing ecosystem without moving or exposing data. By
integrating InfoSum's capabilities with WPP Open - WPP's
intelligent marketing operating system - WPP clients can safely
unlock the full potential of their customer data, enriched through
advanced AI.
Now, using federated learning techniques, WPP clients will be able
to generate new marketing intelligence based on their first-party
data and the universe of data signals available to them through the
InfoSum network, WPP's data assets, and GroupM's media
intelligence. Clients can rapidly build, train, and deploy custom
AI models that utilize these diverse datasets, generating insights
and audiences instantly, optimizing campaigns across the entire
marketing ecosystem, and delivering measurable improvements in
campaign performance within hours rather than weeks.
InfoSum's extensive global data network represents hundreds of
billions of data signals across multiple dimensions of data from
media platforms including Channel 4, DIRECTV, ITV, Netflix, News
Corp, and Samsung Ads, as well as major retailers around the world
and identity and data partners including Experian, TransUnion,
Circana, Dynata, and NCSolutions.
The acquisition accelerates WPP's creation of 'Intelligence Beyond
Identity' for clients, enabling marketers to use 100% of their
business intelligence and leapfrog traditional identity-based
solutions that depend on decades-old, deteriorating databases
weakened by cookie deprecation, platform fragmentation, and
splintering audience match rates.
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: "At
WPP, we have been building the technology and data infrastructure
that will give our clients a unique competitive advantage in the AI
era. Bringing InfoSum into WPP is a major step forward for our data
capabilities and the results we can deliver for our clients. It
allows clients to stay in complete control of their first-party
data, while also giving them access to vastly greater quantities of
high-quality, privacy-compliant data and pioneering technology that
is not available anywhere else in the market
today."
Brian Lesser, CEO of GroupM, commented: "Directly
integrating InfoSum's global data network and technology
infrastructure will allow our clients to create even more value
from their first-party data and enable us to train client AI models
against the most data, from the most places, at unprecedented scale
and speed. Our approach recognizes the importance of identity data
to today's marketing strategies while allowing us to take advantage
of the limitless opportunities for growth we can create by moving
beyond them. As more and more clients leverage our AI-first
solutions, every client model, every audience, and every campaign
will benefit from network effects that will exponentially increase
their intelligence and competitive
advantage."
Lauren Wetzel, CEO of InfoSum, added: "InfoSum's
mission has always been to reimagine how data powers marketing in a
secure, privacy-first, and, most importantly, impactful way for
advertisers and consumers. WPP and GroupM are the perfect partners
to help us accelerate our impact on a truly global scale. We
couldn't be more excited to join forces with the team at GroupM as
privacy and security become non-negotiables, and AI allows us to
redefine what's possible for advertisers and our network of media
and data partners."
InfoSum's technology enables WPP clients to swiftly deploy secure
data environments optimized for federated learning, allowing
marketers to rapidly scale their custom AI models and onboard their
data faster and more easily than ever before. InfoSum's
infrastructure will remain interoperable with existing platforms
and partners to ensure current and future customers can continue
driving growth through secure data collaboration. Companies
interested in becoming a partner, can learn more
at https://www.infosum.com/company/our-partners.
As part of the acquisition, Lauren Wetzel will remain CEO of
InfoSum. Wetzel will take on the additional role as Chief Solutions
Officer for GroupM, working cross-functionally to develop
data-driven products and solutions for clients of WPP and
GroupM.
ENDS
Further information
WPP Communications
About WPP
WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of
creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients
and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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WPP
PLC
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(Registrant)
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Date:
03 April 2025.
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By:
______________________
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Balbir
Kelly-Bisla
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Company
Secretary
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