The news has added fuel to speculation that Havas chairman Vincent Bollore is seeking to engineer a deal. Earlier this month, he raised $100m (£68.8m) after selling a stake in steel manufacturer Vallourec, only days after he bought a 6.03% stake in Aegis.
The talks between Aegis and Havas are understood to have occurred before Bollore's acquisition of the stake and have not developed since he made his predatory move.
Media planning and buying accounts for about two thirds of Aegis's revenue. The group prides itself on its independence from the creative side of the advertising industry.
However, analysts have said that it would make strategic sense to merge. The deal would allow Havas to strengthen its media planning and buying operation by giving it control of Carat and its second media network Vizeum.
Bollore has built himself a reputation as a corporate raider, although he has been at pains to state that he has his eye on the future and does not plan to break Aegis up for sale.
The Bollore family business is a conglomerate with interests including fuel distribution, plastic films and transportation, as well as investments in a French radio station.
However, Bollore has a growing interest in the advertising industry. Along with buying more than 20% of the French ad group Havas, Bollore made himself chairman of the company after taking four seats on its board.
At the start of August, a spokesman commented on Bollore's share buy-up. "This is a financial investment that confirms that the Bollore group intends to continue to develop in the media sector," he said.
The merger of Havas' and Aegis' media planning and buying operations would give the two businesses better economies of scale and help them close the gap on rivals Publicis Groupe, Omnicom Group, Interpublic Group and WPP Group, which all have stronger media operations.
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