Chinese Delay Dentsu / Aegis Deal

Japanese ad giant Dentsu's £3.16bn takeover of Aegis is being held up by delays in getting approval from Chinese regulators.

Dentsu made its bid for Aegis back in June, valued at 240 pence in cash for each share held. Shareholders accepted the offer in August. Included in the package is Aegis' Aztec scan-data business.

However, China's Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) has still not accepted formal notification of the transaction, despite antitrust clearances having been obtained from all other national and regional competition authorities - including those in the US, UK, Canada and Russia.

Some reports in the press have suggested that the hold-up could be related to the ongoing territorial dispute over several islands in the East China Sea. However, Aegis and Dentsu say they 'remain confident' that the acquisition will complete prior to 28 February 2013.

Web sites: www.dentsu.com and www.aegisplc.com .