Media giant offloads post-production house to unravel Sorrell’s legacy The advertising giant WPP is close to offloading The Farm, its television and film post-production house, as part of a radical overhaul under new boss Mark Read. American post-production rival Picture Shop is in talks to buy WPP’s 75% stake in the business, which worked on the BBC drama Baptiste and Netflix documentary Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The deal could be sealed this week, although it is unclear whether it will include the 25% owned by The Farm’s founders, Nicky Sargent and Vikki Dunn. It is set to be valued at about £50m. The Farm provides technical services to Britain’s independent production industry, which is booming thanks to an influx of money from US streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. The deal… Want to read more? Subscribe now and get unlimited digital access on web and our smartphone and tablet apps, free for your first month.
WPP is reportedly in late-stage talks with US rival Picture Shop to sell a 25% stake in The Farm, its TV and film post-production house. A deal could be announced as soon as this week, although it is not clear whether founders Nicky Sargent and Vikki Dunn will be selling their 75% stake. The most recent accounts for The Farm covering the year to December 2017, show a pre-tax profit of £2.2m ($2.8m) on revenue of £28m. WPP acquired the stake more than 15 years ago, but it's no longer considered core.