INTERVIEW: Vincent Bollore Broadens Options For Aegis
May 09 2011 - 9:37AM
Dow Jones News
Once upon a time, it appeared to be simply a question of when
French advertising group Havas SA (HAV.FR) and U.K. peer Aegis
Group PLC (AGS.LN) would merge.
No longer.
Vincent Bollore, the French industrial and major shareholder in
both groups, has other priorities, as he hands over decision-making
power to Havas' new management team.
"For the Bollore group, it is no longer necessary to tie Havas
to Aegis," said Bollore in an interview, speaking from his office
overlooking Paris.
For Bollore, whose family-controlled firm today has around $1.7
billion in market value invested in the two ad groups, Aegis is no
longer a "strategic" investment, which is why he deconsolidated the
26.5% stake from his group's results.
"Aegis has become a financial holding for us...This doesn't mean
we will sell it tomorrow morning. But it's a position that is more
open than five, four, three or two years ago. It's a new position,"
he said.
Even though the billionaire businessman, who is also Havas
Chairman, says he is no longer reserving Aegis for Havas, he wants
to keep his options open. "Everything is still possible. I am not
excluding something will happen," he said.
For many years, investors had been waiting for Bollore to merge
Havas, in which he holds a 32.9% stake, with London-based Aegis.
Industry insiders saw sense in a tie-up, notably because a merged
entity would have a much larger media buying capability and be able
to compete better with larger rivals such as Publicis Groupe SA
(PUB.FR) or Interpublic Group of Cos (IPG).
Bollore tried to obtain seats on Aegis' board several times to
get Aegis to work more closely with Havas but was rebuffed by
shareholders. Aegis went through a tough period in 2008-2010 when a
series of key executives, including the chief executive, left.
After a period of 18 months without a CEO, the group last spring
named company veteran Jerry Buhlmann to the post.
Today, Bollore is confident both in Havas and Aegis' management
teams and is no longer interested in getting on Aegis's board,
while he will gradually take a step back from Havas over the next
decade, he said.
"It's true that when I entered into Aegis's [capital] five years
ago, it was because I was worried that Havas wouldn't survive on
its own and I thought a marriage would be the best solution," he
said. "Today, Havas's results make me think that it can manage on
its own and that its up to Havas to decide. Havas' new team now
holds the key to its development. They will decide if they do an
Aegis deal or not, not me."
Since Bollore was named Havas Chairman in 2005, he gutted the
management and restructured the group which was struggling under
nearly EUR800 million in debt. Recently he appointed a new chief
executive, David Jones, and gave him EUR750 million to spend on
acquisitions. When asked about a tie-up between Havas and Aegis,
Jones has said it is up to Bollore to decide.
Bollore said he will attend fewer Havas meetings in the future,
signalling that he will gradually loosen his tight grip on the
French company. Over the past six years, Bollore has attended all
of Havas's executive committee meetings, as well as most of its
financial committees and lately also presented the group's results
to analysts and the media. His son, Yannick Bollore,is becoming
increasingly involved with the French ad group. After becoming a
member of the board last year, he was named vice president of Havas
in March. "I'll always meddle, it's in my nature," Bollore said.
"But one has to prepare the future and slowdown gradually."
-By Ruth Bender of Dow Jones Newswires and Max Colchester of the
Wall Street Journal; ruth.bender@dowjones.com,
max.colchester@wsj.com
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