UK advertising agency Walker Media is subject to a £35 million bid for a 75% stake from French giant Publicis after the Parisian media group admitted it was "in discussions with M&C Saatchi in relation to Walker Media, which may involve the purchase of a significant part of that business."

The acquisition is not without a degree of irony; Maurice and Charles Saatchi left their original (and best-known) creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi under a cloud to form their M&C agency in 1995. Publicis Groupe purchased the original agency in 2000, and are now on the verge of buying the UK media-buying arm - Walker - from the brothers, who helped found the group in 1998.


M&C Saatchi shares jumped 5.5% on news of the bid, and are expected to retain a significant stake in Walker, whose clients include Fox, KFC, Taco Bell, Sony, Boots, Marks & Spencer, and the National Geographic Channel.

M&C Saatchi said in a statement on Thursday: “There can be no certainty that an agreement will be reached and a further announcement will be made in due course.”

Publicis are expected to merge their Walker operation into their incumbent global agency ZenithOptimedia, a growing acceptance in the industry that a truly comprehensive media offering must encompass traditional and digital formats.