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Bollore, in Blow to Publicis, Buys into Breakaway Agency

Vincent Bollore, the French billionaire who has caused much turmoil among Aegis stakeholders, has made another bold move that's bound to leave another agency reeling.

Bollore - the chairman of Havas and the largest stakeholder in Havas rival Aegis - has taken a 30 percent stake in a breakaway advertising agency formed by founders of Publicis-owned Marcel writes the Guardian (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Marcel played a significant role in nailing down the majority share of the 200 million pound Orange account earlier this year. The news is a major blow to Publicis, potentially threatening its hold on the Orange business.

Marcel is a creative boutique shop that was launched only last year, notes MSNBC. Frederic Raillard and Farid Mokart, founders of Marcel, along with Christophe Lambert, head of the French division of Publicis, have joined to form the new agency, named FFL.

Bollore has steadily upped his stake in Aegis in the last year and owns nearly 30 percent. He is now engaged in a tug-of-war to gain seats on the Aegis board. He used a similar strategy of buying up shares, gaining board seats - and ultimately becoming chairman - when he went after Havas.

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