Market research group Kantar’s owners are exploring the sale of its Worldpanel division for £5 billion (€5.96 billion) or more, according to a report by Sky News on Sunday. In a separate report, the Financial Times indicated that Kantar is set to be broken up and sold.
Kantar’s owners, Bain Capital and the advertising group WPP, declined to comment on these reports, and Kantar did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The Sky News report suggests that the decision by Bain and WPP to sell Worldpanel, which operates consumer panels globally, has not yet been finalized. If such a deal goes through, Kantar would continue as a standalone brand-strategy consultancy.
Earlier this year, Kantar sold its television audience rating unit to buyout fund H.I.G. Capital for about $1 billion. In 2021, Kantar acquired the Chicago-based data company Numerator and merged it with the Worldpanel division in January 2025.
The Financial Times also noted that Bain and WPP had previously considered an initial public offering (IPO) for the remaining business of Kantar, but are now focusing on selling its major divisions. WPP sold a 60% stake in Kantar to Bain in 2019, valuing the company at £3.2 billion (€3.8 billion) at that time.
