Bollore, who has tried unsuccessfully five times to win seats on the board, is more confident that he can get his nominees, Philippe Germond and Roger Hatchuel, elected in the Summer after a meeting with new chairman and interim chief executive officer John Napier, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph.
The paper quoted sources close to Bollore, who owns the 29.9% of Aegis, as saying the Frenchman thinks he has a greater chance of winning board seats following his last effort ended in defeat in May.
Shares in Aegis leapt 20% last week following the departure of Lerwill, who left after boardroom clashes with Napier, on the back of expectation that Bollore could launch a new bid.
Aegis shares initially rose by 19% to 59p on the news on Thursday, broken first by Brand Republic, and headed as high as 63p on Friday.
They are trading at 60.75p this morning -- still well ahead of their low of 48p last month, but way off the 115p they were trading at three months ago.
Bollore has been unhappy with the way the share price has performed and analysts have speculated that the collapse in the share price could make a takeover bid and merger with Havas more likely particularly as it faces a slow down in its core US and UK markets.
Aegis has, like all media firms, warned of "slowing demand" in the UK, US and Spain, and it has been hit by the loss of the £650m Renault account to Omnicom's OMD.
B to B
Bollore to ask for board seats after talks with Napier
LONDON - Vincent Bollore, the chairman of Havas, will begin his efforts to finally win seats on the Aegis board following the departure of chief executive Robert Lerwill last week.
.jpg)
.jpg)