Publicis Groupe, the French owner of ad agency networks including Saatchi & Saatchi, has cut its estimated loss from client General Motors filing for bankruptcy from €55 (£49m) to €9m.

In June, Publicis said it believed that, due to the principle of sequential liability which obliges an advertising group to pay for media space bought on behalf of a client only after receiving payment itself, the total $146m (£89m) GM owed the group for media buying and advertising work would hit its balance sheet to the tune of €55m.

However, late yesterday Publicis, the world's fourth-largest advertising company, said a number of deals and payments secured from the new GM operating company meant its "maximum exposure" would now be €9m.

"The agencies of Publicis Groupe have worked with old GM and will continue to work with new GM," Publicis added.

"Since the filing of the bankruptcy, old GM has signed agreements with some of our agencies and assumed and assigned contracts with other of our agencies to new GM. As a result, we have received payment of the bulk of our fee receivables as of the date of the bankruptcy, and GM has committed to pay us our remaining pre-petition fee receivables over the next few months."

Publicis said that, as of 10 July, General Motors Company had purchased all of the assets of General Motors Corporation, effectively allowing the new company to operate outside the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in the US.

The new GM company will take over the Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands on an ongoing basis while it sells, or winds down, the Saturn, Saab, Hummer and Pontiac businesses.

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