The advertising giant WPP has said it will honour its bid for the Tempus media buying agency.

WPP now says it will not appeal against the UK Takeover Panel's decision to make it go through with the purchase of Tempus.

The company had offered �434m for Tempus back in August, beating a rival offer from the French firm Havas.

But WPP then tried to pull out of the deal claiming there had been "adverse material change" in the prospects for Tempus.

Advertising revenues across the industry have fallen sharply in recent months, particularly following the 11 September terrorist attacks.

Key decision

WPP's attempt to pull out of the deal was the first time the "material adverse change" clause had been invoked for nearly 10 years.

Analysts saw the Takeover Panel's decision as a key one, with some arguing that if WPP had won it could have set a dangerous precedent for future takeover bids.

The Panel said last week that WPP could not use this clause to drop the deal, but allowed WPP to appeal.

But WPP has now said it will not, and that its offer for Tempus is "unconditional in all respects."

In a statement it said it "remained convinced of the long term strategic benefits of combining WPP with Tempus."

It added that its "objective is now for both management teams to work closely together to integrate the two businesses and capitalise on the strategic benefits as quickly as possible."

In the City, shares in Tempus closed up 11.5p at 535p, while WPP's shares fell back 18p to close at 642p.