Shares in Aegis jumped 11.82% this morning to 127.75p, having moved up by more than 25% since Wednesday evening when takeover speculation first emerged.
Havas was immediately linked as a possible buyer of Aegis, which would allow it to strengthen its media planning and buying operation by giving it control of Carat and its second media network Vizeum.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Bollore Group said: "This is a financial investment that confirms that the Bollore group intends to continue to develop in the media sector."
The Bollore stake has been built up quickly and recently with Bollore owning no stake in Aegis prior to the beginning of August. Bollore said that it had passed the 3% mark on August 2 and as of August 4 it now owned 6.03% of Aegis shares.
Earlier this week, Havas's new CEO Philippe Wahl said the new management team was looking at its media strategy and said Havas wanted to close on its rivals.
One possible block to such a deal could be regulatory issues, with EU officials concerned about the concentration of media buying power in Europe being centred in France, which via Publicis Group also includes ZenithOptimedia and Starcom MediaVest.
Lorna Tilbian, Numis Securities media analyst, said: "A merger is more likely to get access to new top management in Robert Lerwill and a strong balance sheet, but regulators are likely to get very excited over French domination."
However, some analysts remain sceptical about a merger, saying that Carat and the Media Planning Group are both strong in Europe and weak in the US, although Carat is seen as being stronger in North America and a merger of their operations there would give them critical mass.
A spokeswoman for Havas said: "We are watching this with interest."
Havas is not the only potential buyer. Analysts also see the possibility of a Japanese agency group bidding as well, with Dentsu or Hakuhodo being possible buyers as well.
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