Vincent Bolloré failed for a fifth time to gain seats on the board of Aegis at the media company's annual general meeting today, where one shareholder attacked his repeated bids as an "absolute waste" of time and money.
Bolloré, a 29.9% stakeholder in Aegis, is likely to call for another in vote in September, after 91% of non-Bolloré Groupe shareholders opposed the nominations of Philippe Germond and Roger Hatchuel.
Germond and Hatchuel each received 42.9% of votes in favour of their nomination to the board and 57% against. In total, 80% of eligible votes were cast at the AGM.
Shareholder Clive Sasserath angrily addressed the AGM before the vote.
"Are there any means at our disposal where by we are able to stop the farce of our French shareholders constantly trying to appoint time and again French shareholders on the [Aegis] board," he said.
He called the repeated attempts an "absolute waste of time, effort and cost" for both sides, particularly because Havas' financial performance was currently "poor" in comparison to Aegis's.
Colin Sharman, the chairman of Aegis, said in a statement that shareholders had rejected the Bolloré Groupe resolutions five times in two years. "Today's vote makes it crystal clear that the vast majority of independent shareholders voting recognise the innate conflict of interest represented by the nominees of a competitor's chairman and largest shareholder," he said.
Bolloré, who holds a 32.9% stake in rival advertising group Havas, did not attend the Aegis AGM today, but Bolloré Groupe was represented by Cedric de Bailliencourt, the chief executive of Bolloré Investissement.
"We remain disappointed that the board of Aegis refuses to engage with its largest shareholder," said de Bailliencourt. "We will convene further meetings in the future, offering a further opportunity to explain our position and to maintain a dialogue with Aegis shareholders."
At the meeting Sharman called Bolloré's fifth attempt at board representation a "matter of regret [that] disregards the express wishes" of most shareholders.
Robert Lerwill, the chief executive of Aegis, was cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the media and research group, saying that "2008 is shaping up to be our 12th [consecutive year of growth]."
"We recognise the external economic climate may become less favourable but we continue to trade well," he added, pointing to factors such as good new business wins, the growth of digital and an increasing proportion of revenue from high-growth emerging markets.
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