Commenting on speculation about a takeover, a statement from Aegis confirmed that approach, but named no suitor. Bollore already has a 6% stake in Havas and he is seen as the obvious buyer.
"Aegis confirms that it has received an approach at an indicative level of 140 pence per Aegis share. However, the approach is preliminary in nature and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made."
The bid approach values the company at £1.56bn and is 16% higher than the firm's closing price yesterday of 120.5p. This morning, its share hit 143.75p at 10:10am.
Although not commenting on whether the bid is from Bollore, it is being noted in the City that he used a 22% stake in Havas to oust chief executive Alain de Pouzilhac in June last year.
For a number of months, there has been speculation that Bollore has wanted to merge Aegis with Havas. Aegis's media buying networks Carat and Vizeum would bolster Havas' weakness in media, through its Media Planning Group operation, particularly in the US.
Rival advertising giant Omnicom made an informal move for Aegis last year but its offer, which valued the firm at £1.4bn, was rejected.
Earlier this month, Aegis announced a pre-tax profit rise to £36.9m from £35.4 last year.
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