Interpublic boosted by report Publicis weighing bid

PARIS (Reuters) - French advertising agency Publicis Groupe (PUBP.PA) is weighing a bid for U.S. rival Interpublic Group (IPG.N), said a report by FT Alphaville on Friday, sending Interpublic's stock sharply higher.

Publicis is weighing a bid which could be worth at least $6 billion, FT Alphaville said quoting "usually knowledgeable" sources on Friday.

An equity valuation at that level would represent a premium of over 40 percent to Interpublic's market value on Thursday.

Shares of Interpublic closed up 13 percent at $10.97 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We are aware of the activity in our stock today. It is our policy not to comment on market rumors or speculation," Interpublic said in a statement later in the day.

A spokeswoman for Publicis said it did not comment on rumor and speculation.

"It (acquisition rumor) has been circulated before. I know of nothing specific to indicate that there's any more or less to it than before," Wedbush Securities analyst James Dix told Reuters.

Shares of Publicis, the world's third-largest advertising group by revenue, closed up 1.6 percent at 40.71 euros.

The advertising industry is in a period of consolidation with Japanese ad giant Dentsu (4324.T) recently bidding for UK-based marketing group Aegis AEGS.L, and market leaders WPP (WPP.L) and Publicis snapping up emerging market and Internet-focused agencies.

"Even when Dentsu bought Aegis, I think Interpublic stock was up ... So investors seem to be receptive to the idea of deal activity in the space at the moment," analyst Dix said.

A Paris-based analyst, who declined to be named, said a tie-up between Publicis and Interpublic has been speculated in the press several times, going back to 2010.

He doubted a deal would make sense for Publicis, which is nearly twice the size of Interpublic in terms of market capitalization and doing better than its U.S. peer in emerging markets and digital ads.

Interpublic, the second largest U.S. advertising and marketing group, is home to advertising agencies McCann Erickson and Draftfcb. It posted lower-than-expected revenue late last month as clients pulled back on ad spending across the world.

Publicis predicted a rebound in its business in the current quarter after posting weak growth in the second quarter dragged down by Europe's economic woes and the loss of an important contract with General Motors (GM.N).

(Reporting by Lionel Laurent in Paris, Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore, Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Mark Potter, Lisa Von Ahn and Sreejiraj Eluvangal)