Publicis Buys Remaining Equity Back From Dentsu, Ends 9-Year Alliance
- by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, February 15, 2013
One of the most unusual alliances between two of the advertising world’s biggest companies -- Paris-based Publicis and Tokyo-based Dentsu -- has come to an end, as Publicis bought back the
last of its shares owned by Dentsu, just as the Japanese agency holding company is poised to align with another big Western European ad group, Aegis.
Dentsu this morning
reported extraordinary income on the sale of the shares, which represented about 1.85% of Publicis, ending a relationship that began nine years ago when Publicis acquired BCom3, which owned flagship
Madison Avenue shops such as Leo Burnett, its Starcom MediaVest Group subsidiary, D’Arcy and the U.K..’s Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
At the time of that deal,
Dentsu owned about 22% of BCom3.
In a joint statement released this morning, Dentsu and Publicis said they would continue to “proactively consider all
opportunities for future collaboration on their individual merits,” and noted that they will continue to jointly own two ventures -- Tokyo-based Beacon Communications and Dentsu Razorfish.
