Publicis Pulls Out of Aegis Race

After weeks of speculation, French Publicis Groupe has announced it will not bid for Aegis, though Havas and WPP may still be interested in buying. Meanwhile, Aegis itself has made an acquisition - snapping up UK B2B media planning and buying group Just Media Ltd (JML) in a deal worth up to £10m.

The statement from Publicis said the group 'has decided that it is not in the best interests of its shareholders to make an offer for Aegis'. Publicis CEO Maurice Levy has been reported as saying he was unwilling to pay more than the 140 pence per share indicated when the company began talks with Aegis last month.

However, the company stated that it reserved the right to change its mind 'if a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer for Aegis'.

As reported on Friday, WPP Group's Martin Sorrell has said his company may make a bid for Aegis, and has expressed particular interest in Synovate, the company's MR arm. Meanwhile, French financier and Chairman of Havas Vincent Bollore has increased his stake in Aegis, which has been gradually creeping up over the last few weeks, to 17.38%.

Amid all this interest, Aegis is clearly not standing still. Robert Lerwill, Aegis CEO, said the acquisition of JML 'will complement and further strengthen Aegis Media's position in the UK business to business market'. He added that 'combining JML with the market experience, tools and buying power of Carat Business will create many synergies and new opportunities that are expected to drive revenue growth and margin improvement'.

The companies are online at www.aegisplc.com , www.wpp.com www.publicis.com and www.justmedia.co.uk.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.