French financier Vincent Bollore appears to have had his position in Aegis Group reduced to a 26.6% stake of the British agency holding company's voting shares, according to a notification Aegis sent
to its shareholders Friday.
Bollore, who had previously controlled 29.9% of Aegis, also is the chairman and largest shareholder of Paris-based Havas, a relationship that has fueled persistent
speculation of a potential merger between the two agency holding companies.
The change in Bollore's Aegis holdings follows Aegis' acquisition of Australia's Mitchell Communications Group for an
estimated $363 million in Aegis stock.
According to a separate notice sent by Aegis this morning, that deal resulted in Mitchell founder and chief Harold Charles Mitchell netting a 3.6% share of
Aegis' voting shares, which may have diluted Bollore's position.
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