Bollore's stake in Aegis crosses the 20% mark

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 21-Oct-05, 12:15

LONDON - Vincent Bollore, the French corporate raider and chairman of Havas, now owns more than 20% of Aegis Group, after acquiring a further 1.9m shares in the company.

Bollore's stake presently stands at 20.13% of Aegis after the latest tranche of shares were bought yesterday. He has still not revealed his plans for the company, amid speculation that he could demand representation on the board of Aegis.

If Bollore acquires shares giving him 30% or more voting rights in Aegis, he is bound to make a bid for the company, under UK regulations.

Shares in the company, owner of media buying networks Carat and Vizeum, as well as market research firm Synovate and digital network Isobar, have dropped back following Publicis Groupe's decision not to make a bid.

Bollore acquired much of his Aegis stock when shares were trading around the 140p mark, but at the time of writing, shares were valued at 125.5p.

Publicis' withdrawal from the Aegis race leaves WPP Group and Hellman Friedman to decide whether they will make a bid. WPP has said it is primarily interested in Aegis because of Synovate.

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