• Reuters, Tuesday, July 28, 2009 11:19 PM

Bollore Group, the French conglomerate run by Havas chairman Vincent Bollore, has sold its cigarette paper subsidiary for an undisclosed sum. The unit, which has annual sales of about $166 million and employs 440, was sold to U.S. based Republic Group, which makes cigarette packaging.

In addition to Havas, Bollore is the largest shareholder in media buying group Aegis and has made several failed attempts to win two seats on the board of Aegis. Industry experts say Bollore is seeking to combine the two agency networks.

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