The owners of Kantar Group, the global market research firm, are to explore a £5bn-plus sale of the division which supplies closely watched data on the performance of Britain's supermarkets.
Sky News has learnt that Kantar's Worldpanel arm could be put up for sale later this year.
The move, which has yet to be formally approved by Bain Capital and WPP Group, Kantar's owners, would leave the company as a pureplay brand strategy consultancy.
Kantar Worldpanel is in the process of combining with Numerator, a US-based business which was acquired in 2021.
Collectively, the enlarged business provides data representing five billion consumers globally.
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Banking sources said on Sunday night that the Worldpanel business could fetch well over £5bn in a sale.
That would leave the Kantar brand strategy business to be listed or sold separately, according to the sources.
Alternatively, Bain Capital and WPP could elect to float the entire group instead of pursuing the Worldpanel sale.
Bankers have yet to be appointed to handle any auction.
A sale at a bumper valuation would deliver a rare piece of good news to WPP, which has seen its shares hammered amid doubts about its strategy in a marketing services industry increasingly susceptible to disruption by advances in artificial intelligence.
Kantar and Bain Capital have been contacted for comment.
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