Drama around world's last indie ad agency

LONDON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- An Anglo-American syndicate is horning in on a French takeover effort of the world's last remaining independent media buying conglomerate.

Hellman & Friedman, a U.S. buyout shop, and WPP Group PLC of Britain, are talking with Aegis Group PLC, which also is being pursued by French media giant Publicis Groupe SA, the Telegraph reported Wednesday.

Aegis has acknowledged meeting with an unnamed and potential bidder, widely understood to representative the Anglo-American group.

Besides Publicis, other parties reportedly interested in Aegis are French corporate raider Vincent Bollore, the company of which he is the chairman, Omnicom Group and research companies like France's Ipsos and the U.K.'s Taylor Nelson Sofres.

Each of these parties is interested in various components and divisions of Aegis, and some -- particularly competitors, like WPP -- are understood to be simply interested in achieving bidder status to gain a look at Aegis' books, the Guardian said.

Further, what appears currently as competition among potential bidders, like the Anglo-American syndicate and Publicis, could evolve into a cooperative effort as interest in Aegis builds, analysts said.