how much did wpp pay for tempus the total price for 100 of the shares 539639

In the summer of 2001, the UK advertising group WPP got involved in a stock market battle with Havas Advertising for Tempus, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Havas Advertising offered shareholders 541 pence per share, before WPP increased its offer to 555 pence per share. WPP’s offer was accepted. Tempus’s share capital was divided into 77 million shares. Before the takeover bid, WPP held 17 million Tempus shares (22% of the company’s share capital) that it had bought up on the market over the years at an average price of 240 pence per share.

(a) How much did WPP pay for Tempus (the total price for 100% of the shares)?

(b) How much did Havas Advertising and WPP value the shareholders’ equity of

Tempus at?

(c) Do you think that the fact that WPP already held 22% of the share capital of

Tempus which it had acquired relatively cheaply gave it the option of paying

more for the rest of the shares?