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Media.Vest, dumped in April, returns as $600 million finalist
The $600 million review for Philips Electronics' consolidated global media buying and planning business has taken a turn worthy of a soap opera.
Two months after it was dropped from the review-- and from Philips' roster--Bcom.3 Group's MediaVest has returned as a finalist. That has clouded the fate of another finalist, Interpublic Group of Cos.' Initiative Media. Executives close to the review said Initiative has been dropped, although Initiative CEO Lou Schultz said as far he knew, his company was still a contender.
The other finalist is Aegis Group's Carat. The Dutch marketer is known for its secrecy and surprises. Late last year, it stunned the industry when it yanked its creative assignments from Havas Advertising's Euro RSCG without warning, consolidating that business at Omnicom Group's DDB Worldwide and D'Arcy...