Well, the $7 billion takeover of IMS by VNU is off the table. VNU shareholders brought sufficient pressure to void the proposed deal. Now rumors are swirling that shareholders will force a breakup of VNU itself. Looking at the structure of the company, it’s pretty easy to see that there are divergent businesses which could probably survive as independent companies. Market research could be one business and trade shows another. It will be interesting to see what people at next week’s Online Information show in London have to say about this. After all, Online Information is part of the trade show piece of VNU.