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French billionaire Vincent Bollore is up to his old tricks. In recent weeks, he has made a series of transactions worth $10.7 million, boosting his stake in two of Europe’s biggest agency holding companies. He has upped his stake in Paris-based Havas, of which he is chairman, to nearly 31 percent, and increased his holdings in Aegis to 29.86 percent.
His Aegis stake is now just below the 30 percent that would force him to make a formal bid, writes MediaPost.
Bollore made four failed attempts to gain seats on the Aegis board. After the last one, he indicated he was content with his Aegis stake.
Aegis’s shares were changed to a “buy” rating by equities firm UBS in July. UBS believed the company would go into play and the value of the stock could nearly double. The equities firm speculated that Bollore would not be the likeliest suitor, but rather that another big agency holding company like WPP, Omnicom or Publicis would make the run.
Publicis bid $2.8 billion for Aegis in September 2005. Had the takeover happened, the combined companies would have formed the largest media buying company in Europe and the U.S.
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