Bollore Raises Aegis Stake -- Again, Set To Meet With Publicis' Levy

As speculation continues to swirl around the creeping takeover and potential breakup of Aegis Group, French corporate raider Vincent Bollore has once again boosted his stake, solidifying his say in the outcome of the U.K. parent of Carat, Isobar and some prized research businesses. Aegis early Friday morning disclosed that Bollore has raised his stake to 13.35 percent from 12.64 percent of Aegis' shares. The step up marks a further dilution of influential Chicago fund manager Harris Associates position in Aegis, which once was the biggest shareholder with more than 10 percent, but whose stake has dwindled to 7.65 percent, suggesting the institutional investor is simply taking profits and has no plan to play a strategic role in an Aegis takeover.

While Bollore has yet to declare his intentions concerning Aegis, he mustered a similar takeover of Paris-based rival Havas last year, and is now rumored to be discussing a deal with French agency holding company Publicis Groupe. Publicis, which has already declared an interest in acquiring Aegis, and which has been buying and selling shares, still has not mustered enough of a position to require a public disclosure. But U.K. publisher The Independent Online reports that Publicis CEO Maurice Levy is scheduled to hold a meeting in Paris today with Bollore to discuss a deal.

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The meeting would add another bit of intrigue to an Aegis takeover scenario. Acquisitive WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell is also believed to have held talks with Bollore and to have enlisted the support of U.S.-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman to mount its own takeover bid.

Executives familiar with the European agency scene say the French financial community is keen on strengthening France's position in the global advertising marketplace and is encouraging a deal between Publicis and Bollore. Some even speculate that the talks may lead to a merger between Publicis and Havas, which combined with Aegis would make one of the world's biggest advertising companies, giving both WPP and U.S.-based Omnicom and Interpublic a run for the money.

Ultimately, a break-up scenario seems more likely with Bollore cutting a deal split Aegis assets among one or more players including Publicis, Havas and even WPP. How that might unfold remains unclear. Of the three suitors, WPP has the only significant research holdings and may ultimately be more interested in Aegis' Synovate operations. Carat, meanwhile, is a big Procter & Gamble media agency, which could pose different kinds of conflicts for both Publicis and WPP. Publicis' Starcom MediaVest Group already shares P&G's communications planning account with Carat, making a consolidation of that business unlikely as P&G has a policy of multiple suppliers. WPP, meanwhile, services P&G arch rival Unilever. That conflict was a major reason behind P&G pulling the $800 million media buying account for Gillette out of WPP's MindShare unit and assigning it to Starcom MediaVest Group earlier this week, following the closing of P&G's acquisition of Gillette.

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