A new media elephant soon?

In its November issue, Agencies Campaign speculates about a merger between Aegis and WPP. The recent, unexpected departure of Aegis Media Europe CEOs Bruno Kemoun and Eryck Rebbouh triggered suspected talks between the agency groups. Both had worked for Aegis plc for 18 years. The British trade magazine writes that the background to the resignations could have been talks between Aegis and WPP about a possible merger. "Such speculation has surfaced from time to time in the past," explains Andy Lehmann, CEO of Aegis Media Group Switzerland (Carat/Vizeum), which was launched last summer. No further information on the rumor was available from the WPP Group in Switzerland either. "We are not aware of anything", says Urs Rueb, Managing Director of Mediaedge|CIA. "This is speculation," explains Mindshare Managing Director Cosima Giannachi regarding merger plans. And she adds: "I cannot comment in detail." (dse)