Bollore

Groupe Bollore, which is headed by a friend of conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy, says at least 80,000 subscribers are needed for the programme to be profitable - not expected for seven years, officials say.

Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Telegraph Staff 2011

And while Mr. Bollore has said several times over the past year that Havas could live without Aegis, another trigger made change inevitable.

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011

Since Mr. Bollore was named chairman in 2005, he has gutted the management and restructured the group, which was struggling under nearly €800 million $1.15 billion in debt.

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011

For Mr. Bollore, whose family-controlled firm today has around $1.7 billion in market value invested in the two ad groups, Aegis is no longer a "strategic" investment, which is why he deconsolidated the 26.5% stake from his group's results.

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011

For many years, investors had been waiting for Mr. Bollore to merge Havas, in which he holds a 32.9% stake, with London-based Aegis.

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011

Bollore wasn't consulted about the acquisition, it said, as a result of which it no longer had "the means to act in order to protect its interests in its shareholding."

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011

The deal is almost certain to go through as Vincent Bollore, the largest shareholder in Aegis with a 26.5% stake, has given an irrevocable undertaking to vote in favour of the deal.

Aegis Group sells Synovate to Ipsos for £525m 2011

In 2010, Aegis bought Mitchell for £229.1 million in cash and shares, a deal that diluted Bollore's stake in Aegis by 2.6 percentage points and meant it no longer had "real influence," according to the report.

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011

Aegis said Vincent Bollore , who holds around 26% of Aegis' capital, has agreed to vote in favour of the deal, which excludes the scan-data-services business Aztec.

Aegis Sells Research Unit to Ipsos Ruth Bender 2011

"For the Bollore group, it is no longer necessary to tie Havas to Aegis," Mr. Bollore said in an interview, speaking from his office overlooking Paris.

Bollore Broadens Options for Aegis Ruth Bender 2011