Increased Stake Fuels Bollore/Aegis Rumours

Speculation surrounding the future of media heavyweight Aegis continues to build today, with the announcement that French entrepreneur Vincent Bollore has raised his stake in the company to around 8% fuelling rumours that he will enter the bidding for overall control of the firm.

The increased stake increases Bollore’s holding to 8.04% from 6% and follows French group Publicis’ confirmation last week that it is in the early stages of an offer for Aegis (see Publicis Confirms Aegis Bid Rumours).

However, Bollore is not the only potential rival to Publicis’ approach for control of Aegis. Several competing firms are currently consulting with advisers, sparking rumours of an impending tussle for control of the media buying firm amongst city insiders.

Amongst those believed to be interested are British market research specialist Taylor Nelson Sofres, American-owned Omnicom and French firm Ipsos. Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP was also thought to be a likely contender to swallow Aegis whole, although reports over the weekend claim that the high profile media figure has shown little interest in company’s sale (see Rivals Mull Battle With Publicis Over Aegis).

Aegis Group: 020 7070 7700 www.aegisplc.com