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As the world’s largest independent media buyer, Aegis is determined to block any attempt by French billionaire Vincent Bollore to gain boardroom representation, according to the Guardian Unlimited. While Bollore has told Robert Lerwill, chief executive of Aegis, that his growing stake in the company - now up to 25 percent - is purely financial, it is expected that Bollore will seek influence over the company.
Aegis is likely concerned that Bollore’s behavior on the Aegis board would mirror his behavior on the board of Havas: when his stake in the French business reached 22 percent earlier this year, he won four seats on the board and soon ousted chairman and chief executive Alain de Pouzilhac.
Havas controls an estimated 4 percent of the global media buying market, while Aegis controls approximately 9 percent. Aegis is expecting Bollore to take his stake to 29.9 percent, the most a company can hold without launching a bid.
All sectors of the media business will suffer from the weakened economy in 2008 and 2009, with a slump in local advertising particularly hurting newspapers and local TV, according to a new projection from Goldman Sachs.
Broadcast nets will experience…
The New York Times is shuttering its International Herald Tribune site; NYTimes.com will soon host the international news normally reserved for its sister website.
The move is not about cost savings, but rather about growth, NYTimes.com general manager Vivian Schiller…
Unilever’s Vaseline set forth on an unusual research project in a small town in Alaska. Setting up a storefront, the company began giving away free bottles of lotion and asking recipients to name the person who had recommended they come…
Meet the Press, the show hosted by Tim Russert for 17 years before his death last June, is beginning to slip in ratings.
Last month, CBS’s Face the Nation pulled ahead of Meet the Press for the first time in two…
Bloggers collectively create nearly one million blog posts each day, and half of bloggers believe blogs will be a primary source of news and entertainment in the next five years, according to Technorati’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report, MarketingCharts writes.…
Wal-Mart and Costco reported same-store gains in September, with sales rising 2.4% and 9% respectively. Sales at Target stores open at least a year fell 3%, writes Retailer Daily.
Below, fiscal results from the discount retail giants:
Sales of food and…
