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Lévy: No Discussions at Board Meeting About any IPG BidNEW YORK Recurrent talk of Publicis' strategic interest in IPG as a potential acquisition target resurfaced Friday amid meetings between Bear Stearns analysts and holding company leaders. This time, Publicis was said to be talking to Dentsu, a partner that owns about 15 percent of the French-based company, about approaching IPG. But Publicis CEO Maurice Lévy strongly denied he had talked to Dentsu about IPG. "I have not had any conversations with my friends at Dentsu regarding any kind of acquisition, I have not met with them while I was (and still am) in New York and I don't plan to meet them before I see them next week at our regular board meeting in Paris," Lévy told Adweek Friday. It was at that board meeting that sources on Friday said Lévy intended to bring up the possibility of an IPG acquisition at a board meeting on Dec. 7, but Lévy denied that as well. "There'll be no discussions at the board meeting next week about any bid for Interpublic," he said. It is believed that Lévy earlier intended to broach the topic, but that more recently the Badinter family that leads the Publicis board would prefer the holding company to do a deal with Aegis rather than IPG. "It's not on the table for next week," said a source. Lévy has a strategic interest in IPG, with whom he shares clients such as General Motors and L'Oréal, and the holding company's assets. Talk of acquisition interest in IPG heated up in the summer when its share price dipped below $8 for the first time in 15 years. At the time, IPG's enterprise value, or theoretical takeover price, had fallen to $4.1 billion [Adweek, July 17]. Since then, however, IPG share price has climbed, along with its enterprise value, which as of Friday's close at $11.95 was about $5.6 billion, making a potential deal much more expensive. Reached for comment, IPG said: "We don't comment on rumors."Omnicom Takes Majority Stake In Amsterdam Agency 180NEW YORK Omnicom last week struck an agreement to buy a majority stake in Amsterdam-based shop 180. The cash deal ended months of negotiations and years of flirtation between the two. The shop is expected to function as a global creative resource for Omnicom, which is likely to help 180 expand into multiple markets. Even before the deal, 180 planned to open an office in Los Angeles to serve Sony Electronics, a new client the agency shares with Omnicom's BBDO. Other clients that 180 shares with Omnicom agencies include Motorola and Adidas. Nonetheless, 180 will stand on its own, unattached to any Omnicom agency network, and therefore will be able to pursue business that conflicts with sister shops.BBDO Beats Out Grey in Global Mercedes Agency RealignmentNEW YORK Mercedes-Benz last week said it was consolidating a significant portion of its global ad duties with Omnicom's BBDO, a roster shop of its parent, DaimlerChrysler. BBDO beat WPP's Grey, which was the other finalist in the six-month review, sources said. Both agencies declined to comment. As a result of the realignment, BBDO, which handled the brand in France and part of Spain, will add duties in India, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Poland and South Africa, among others. The shift takes place on Jan. 1, 2007. A client representative declined further comment. Mercedes-Benz spent $160 million in U.S. measured media last year and has already spent that much through the first three quarters of 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Global spending was not available.Crispin Picks Up Geek Squad; Work to Debut in MarchNEW YORK Crispin Porter + Bogusky has been named lead agency for Best Buy's Geek Squad computer repair team, the client has confirmed. Geek Squad advertising efforts had previously been handled in-house. The MDC Partners' agency's first campaign for the client is expected to launch in March and include commercials, print and in-store advertising. Estimated media spending is $20 million, per sources. "We're very excited to be working on the Geek Squad business," said shop CEO Jeff Hicks. "It's a powerful brand with amazing growth potential." The Squad was founded in Minneapolis six years ago as an independent service; Best Buy acquired the operation shortly after its inception.

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