There is an understanding in media that what Sir Martin Sorrell wants, Sir Martin Sorrell generally gets.

His attempt to gatecrash the agreed merger of TNS and GfK, however, has not quite proceeded to plan. The board of TNS, the UK end of the proposed market research combine, threw out a third proposal from Sir Martin, worth 260p but heavily laced with conditions. Shares in TNS spiked on expectations of a knockout offer from WPP. But they have fallen back during the past fortnight to about the level of a pre-bid TNS, plus the value of promised GfK cost savings. Last night they closed much closer to Sir Martin’s revised proposal.