Publicis in talks to sell outdoor interests to JCDecaux

by Staff, Brand Republic 17-May-05, 08:55

PARIS - Publicis Groupe has revealed it is in talks with outdoor giant JCDecaux about selling some of its French and Dutch advertising interests, including its 50% stake in Sopact, which runs the multimillion-euro Paris bus shelter advertising contract.

Also on the block for sale to the French outdoor advertising group is a 33% stake in Metrobus, which manages advertising space on the Paris Metro as well as the suburban rail system and buses, along with a 50% stake in JCDecaux Nederland, which manages street furniture contracts for the major Dutch cities.

Publicis owns the stakes in Sopact and JCDecaux Nederland via its Medias & Regies Europe division. JCDecaux is a long-standing partner of the subsidiary, and following the deal it would be the sole owner of Sopact and JCDecaux Nederland.

Publicis said that it would hold meetings on May 25 to report on the progress of the discussions.

The move by Publicis to sell off outdoor interests comes as rival advertising holding company WPP Group moves to expand its outdoor capabilities. WPP has created a new £350m-billing outdoor media specialist by merging Portland Outdoor and Poster Publicity Limited, which it hopes will rival Aegis' Posterscope.

WPP announced last week that the business had won regulatory approval in most key markets and the new company launch is planned for the early summer of 2005, although no name has yet been chosen.

Publicis reported last week that new business for the first quarter of the year had hit the record level of €1.13bn (£780m). Days later it was revealed that its media arm Starcom MediaVest had won the $3.2bn (£1.7bn) General Motors media account in the US.

In March this year, Publicis Groupe's chief executive Maurice Levy said that the company is on the hunt for acquisitions, including direct marketing and PR agencies, after seeing a 40% surge in profits.

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