‘Little Possibility” Of Renewed Aegis Bid Says Levy

Maurice Levy, CEO of media giant Publicis, has said that a further bid by his company for control of Aegis Group is unlikely, following the company’s decision to leave takeover talks last month.

The media boss did not completely rule out a return to the negotiating table, however, simply stating that “There is very little possibility that we will come back.”

Levy also acknowledged the growing share in Aegis held by French entrepreneur and Havas chairman, Vincent Bollore.

In a conference call held yesterday, Levy explained: “Currently, and to be quite blunt, we don’t see a great opportunity for us. We believe the position of Bollore is such that he is the one who will make the decision, but we see no reason to enter a fight which can only translate into raising the price.”

The Publicis chief has now turned his attention to other interests and acquisition, he said, announcing that several small acquisitions by the firm would be announced in the near future. “We are negotiating some deals,” he said. “They are not very big,” but will be “nicely accretive,” providing a double-digit percentage boost at the EPS line within their first year as part of Publicis.

Aegis Group: 020 7070 7700 www.aegisplc.com Publicis Groupe: www.publicis.com