Saatchi & Saatchi Shares Rally on News of Bank Stake

Shares in the embattled advertising group Saatchi & Saatchi Co. rose 9% Monday, as an investment bank took a big stake and the company’s board held a meeting that reportedly could lead to a new name.

Saatchi & Saatchi was rocked last week by the departure of co-founder Maurice Saatchi, who cut all ties to the group after U.S. shareholders forced him out as chairman.

Maurice Saatchi hopes to start up a rival ad agency, using some of the executives who followed him out the door at Saatchi & Saatchi, although the company is fighting those plans in court.

The crisis last week sent several big clients packing and pushed Saatchi & Saatchi’s stock down by more than 25%.

But shares rallied Monday on news that PDFM Ltd., a subsidiary of the investment bank UBS U.K. Holdings Ltd., had increased its stake in the company to 13.61%.