Three executives who sold their institution to S4 Capital are suing the agency group helmed by advertising mogul Martin Sorrell, alleging it has withheld millions of dollars and shares owed to them.
The erstwhile CitrusByte execs allege successful the suit that S4 engaged "in a run of obfuscation and delay" and raised "unfounded claims and arguments" to debar payment, allegedly withholding astatine slightest $7 cardinal successful escrow costs and delaying aliases withholding millions of S4 shares tied to the deal.
S4 declined to remark connected ongoing litigation. The institution has not made a ineligible consequence to the claims successful the lawsuit, which was revenge earlier this month.
UK-based S4 was launched successful 2018 by Sorrell, pursuing his acrimonious exit from WPP, wherever he had served arsenic CEO for much than 30 years. The company, which focuses connected integer marketing, grew successful size quickly done much than 20 acquisitions successful its early years.
S4 acquired CitrusByte, a tech consulting patient later known arsenic TheoremOne, successful 2022. It sits wrong S4's Monks Technology Services division.
The suit highlights the clash successful Sorrell's empire-building strategy, successful which S4 typically acquires agencies and tech businesses for a operation of cash, stock, and early earnouts. A nationalist tribunal conflict risks creating a distraction and could complicate early deals astatine a clip erstwhile it's trying to move astir its business.
S4's accelerated description successful its first 4 years was followed by a much difficult period, arsenic awesome tech clients trim trading spending and immoderate of its agencies underperformed.
The institution has since been focusing connected reducing its costs, including cutting its caput count to 6,150 arsenic of June this year, down from much than 9,000 astatine its largest. S4 Capital's banal has fallen by astir 94% since its 2021 peak. Its marketplace capitalization stands astatine astir 347 cardinal pounds, astir $470 million.
The complaint, revenge successful Delaware Superior Court this month, was brought by Brady Brim-DeForest, CitrusByte's erstwhile CEO; William Jessup, who was antecedently the firm's caput of services delivery; and David Kullmann, its erstwhile caput of staffing.
The suit says that a twelvemonth aft the transaction closed, S4 said CitrusByte had met the standards required by its acquisition statement and agreed to make a "maximum contingent payment" to the CitrusByte information holders. The nonstop specifications are redacted successful the filing.
The suit alleges that S4 has refused to merchandise astatine slightest $7 cardinal held successful escrow accounts aft day payout deadlines successful 2025 and 2026.
S4 said it had the correct to withhold the money to screen costs related to a abstracted ineligible conflict pinch a erstwhile CitrusByte executive, Yoav Cohen, the suit says.
Cohen served arsenic main commercialized serviceman of S4's Formula.Monks tech services section aft S4's CitrusByte acquisition. He sued S4 and CitrusByte successful March 2025, alleging they had grounded to salary him two-thirds of $940,000 successful inducement payments owed pursuing a settlement. A week later, the parties agreed to disregard the lawsuit pinch prejudice, meaning that the aforesaid declare can't beryllium refiled.
Brim-DeForest, Jessup, and Kullmann countered that the Cohen matter arose aft the woody closed, arguing the deal's statement only made them financially responsible for liabilities created earlier S4 took ownership. Brim-DeForest, Jessup, and Kullmann besides allege that S4 settled Cohen's declare without obtaining their contractually required consent, which they reason meant that they were disconnected the hook for costs associated pinch the dispute.
The suit besides claims S4 didn't present shares successful a timely mode that were owed to the executives successful 2025. It says S4 did yet rumor the shares owed to Jessup and Kullmann successful November that year, but hasn't released the shares owed to Brim-DeForest.
The erstwhile CitrusByte executives are seeking astatine slightest $7 cardinal successful rate payouts related to the escrow accounts, damages for the withheld and delayed equity, and ineligible costs.
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Lara O'Reilly is the anchor of the CMO Insider newsletter.She is simply a elder analogous who has covered the integer advertising, marketing, and media industries since 2010. Her existent hit includes large tech companies for illustration Alphabet, and Meta, and adtech firms, agencies, publishers, the creator economy, and CMOs.Lara has antecedently worked arsenic a newsman and executive shaper astatine titles including The Wall Street Journal, Digiday, Yahoo Finance, and Marketing Week. She was antecedently Business Insider's elder world advertizing editor from 2014 to 2017.Lara is simply a regular impermanent connected TV and power and has appeared connected outlets specified arsenic the BBC, NPR, SiriusXM's Wharton Business Daily, and CTV Television Network. She besides often speaks connected shape astatine awesome events specified arsenic Web Summit, IFA, VivaTech, Advertising Week, and Cannes Lions.To get successful touch pinch Lara O'Reilly, email [email protected] aliases interaction her connected Signal astatine @loreilly.71
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