Aegis Group to pick up 51% in Percept India

Aegis Group Plc, one of the world's largest media services and market research firms, is set to acquire a controlling stake of 51.01 per cent in Percept India, an outdoor advertising company promoted by the Singh brothers, Harindra and Shailendra.

Percept India is a new entrant in the Rs 600 crore outdoor media services business and handles the Airtel account.

Aegis will buy the stake in Percept India in two tranches. First, it will buy 45,550 shares of the company from the existing promoters and then subscribe to another 5,000 shares issued by the company.

The two lots add up to 51.01 per cent. Sources close to the development said Aegis would route its investment through its wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, Aegis Media Asia Pacific Pte.

Percept India executives refused to comment on the cost of acquisition. Aegis Media has sought the permission of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Secretariat of Industrial Assistance to buy into Percept India.

Aegis already has two joint ventures with the Percept group, Carat India and Percept D'Mark, in which it owns 76 per cent and 25.1 per cent, respectively. While Carat India is in the business of media buying, Percept D'Mark is into event and celebrity management.

Both joint ventures have informed the government that they do not have any objection to Aegis acquiring a controlling stake in Percept India.

Percept India, set up recently by the Singh brothers, specialises in outdoor and out-of-home communications, including provisioning, leasing and renting of outdoor advertising media like billboards, light-box advertisements, backlit signages and unipoles. Harindra and Shailendra Singh together hold 84.8 per cent in the company.

Globally, Aegis is one of the biggest names in advertising. It provides its clients with marketing consultancy, advertising space and airtime through the Carat, Vizeum and Posterscope brands. Aegis' outdoor advertising business operates under the brand Posterscope.