Earlier today, it was reported that Maurice Levy, chief executive of Publicis, will make a decison on whether to bid for Aegis imminently.
This could include withdrawing from the race altogether to avoid increasing the French ad group's debt.
A source told the French daily La Tribune that Levy is tempted to withdraw its indicative 140p-a-share or £1.56bn bid over fears that the acquisition of Aegis will increase debt and hamper the French holding firm's moves to secure an investment grade debt rating from credit agencies. Publicis is not currently rated by either Standard & Poor's or Moody's.
It is believed that the strong position of French corporate raider and Havas chairman Vincent Bollore, who yesterday raised his stake in Aegis to 15%, is another factor that could see Levy walk away from buying the British media buying and research firm.
Yesterday, Aegis' board of directors met in Chicago and it emerged that they are seeking a firm takeover offer, with Publicis seen as the preferred bidder over the combined WPP Group and Hellmann & Friedman bid.
This seems to rule out any possible alliance with Havas. Earlier this week Robert Lerwill, chief executive of Aegis, said he saw a certain logic in closer ties with Havas.
This morning, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell confirmed he is looking at a possible takeover bid. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Sorrell said it is the market research operation Synovate that was his main interest.
Sorrell described Aegis's research arm as "interesting" and remarked that it has always sat "rather uncomfortably with the media buying business", saying there did not seem to be much of a connection between the two.
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