Dentsu and Aegis have agreed to extend the "stop date" for the acquisition from 28 February to 28 March 2013, in light of the holiday and to allow China's Ministry of Commerce to complete its review period.
In late Janaury when Campaign Asia-Pacific followed up on the acquisition with Nick Waters, CEO of Aegis Media Asia-Pacific, he reported that the regulatory authority in China was taking longer to process the filing than other authorities around the world. "We are yet to hear their formal position, but we believe the deal is likely to be completed by the end of February,” he said at the time.
Waters told Campaign yesterday that Dentsu and Aegis had announced in a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange in mid-Feburary that most antitrust clearances had been obtained, with the exception of a clearance from the Ministry of Commerce relating to China's anti-monopoly law.
The required filing was formally accepted by the ministry on 7 November 2012, and discussions had proceeded constructively and were at an advanced stage, according to the statement. However, in light of the Chinese New Year holiday and with a view to allowing the ministry to complete its review period, Dentsu and Aegis had agreed to extend the acquisition date. The statement indicated, in somewhat tortured legalese, that the companies do not consider the situation a threat to the acquisition proceeding.
