Higher Price for Synovate?

Aegis may be offered up to £600m for Synovate by an as-yet unidentified bidder, according to reports: considerably more than the rumoured value of the current 'exclusive' Ipsos bid, c.£520m.

According to UK paper The Daily Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk ), corporate advisory firm Wyvern Partners is as of today seeking meetings with leading Aegis shareholders including 26.6% stakeholder and Havas Chairman Vincent Bollore; along with Standard Life, Norges Bank and Legal & General.

The Telegraph said Wyvern first approached Aegis with details of a potential offer 'a few weeks before' news of the Ipsos talks broke on 6th June.

Aegis has apparently been reluctant to engage in talks given that the potential bidder's name is not disclosed - last week the Aegis Board said its talks with Ipsos were 'exclusive', in response to a press report that it had received an expression of interest from private equity group Cinven.

Wyvern is expected to promise shareholders both the bidder's name and the potential price, once meetings get underway.

Web sites: www.synovate.com , www.ipsos.com and www.wyvernpartners.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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