Havas chairman Vincent Bolloré is understood to be preparing a takeover bid of rival Aegis.
According to a report in
Campaign, Havas sources predict that Aegis, the parent company of Carat, Vizeum and the market research company Synovate, will be under Bolloré’s control by the end of the year.
It is expected that if Bolloré does bid for Aegis it could lead to rivals such as WPP, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom to also enter the fray.
Bolloré owns a 29.9% stake in Aegis, just short of the 30% threshold at which he would be required to make a bid (see Bolloré Increases Aegis Stake).
Bolloré began building his stake in Aegis in August 2005 before making several unsuccessful attempts at gaining representation on the company’s board.
The Campaign report says that Bolloré’s associates believe there will be a heavy culling of the Aegis group management should he win control, but efforts would be made to lock in the most talented executives in the operating companies.
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