| Type | Public company (Euronext: HAV) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business Services |
| Founded | France (1968) (as Havas Conseil) |
| Headquarters | Suresnes, France |
| Key people | Vincent Bolloré, Chairman Jacques Séguéla, Vice Chairman David Jones, CEO |
| Products | Advertising, marketing |
| Revenue | €1.441 billion EUR (2009)[1] |
| Net income | €92 million EUR (2009) |
| Employees | 14,898 |
| Website | havas.com |
Havas (French pronunciation: [avas]; Euronext: HAV) is the second largest advertising group in France and is a "Global advertising and communications services group" and the sixth-largest global advertising and communications group worldwide, operating on the communications consulting market through three main operational divisions:
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The company which today bears the name Havas is itself a former subsidiary of the original Havas which acquired the rights to the name in 2002. It is a holding company headquartered in the outskirts of Paris and listed in the Euronext main market.
Havas was the first French news agency, created in 1835. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency comes from it. Havas was acquired by Vivendi in 1998, and renamed Vivendi Universal Publishing. VUP in turn merged with Lagardere to become Editis in 2004.
French corporate raider Vincent Bolloré, through his holding company the Bolloré Group, is the main shareholder, controlling 26.41% of the share capital as at 20 July 2006. Bolloré is also the Chairman of the Havas board (Président du conseil d'administration).
Havas is the family name of Charles-Louis Havas. He created the first French press agency in 1835.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1879 | The Havas news agency incorporated as a Société Anonyme (plc). |
| 1920 | Havas merges with the Société Générale d'Annonces and becomes the leading press manager (later extended to radio and cinema domains). |
| 1923 | started billboarding. |
| 1945 | The Havas news agency is nationalised after the fall of the Vichy government. Starts up in the travel business. (later extended to free newspapers, professional and other publications) |
| 1968 | Creates Havas Conseil S.A. to become advertising and media consultants |
| 1975 | Havas Conseil S.A. changes its name to Eurocom |
| 1987 | The Havas news agency is privatised and becomes Havas S.A. |
| 1996 | Eurocom S.A. changes its name to Havas Advertising S.A. |
| 1997 | Havas SA absorbs C.E.P. Communication |
| 1999 | Vivendi takes over Havas (100%) |
| 2000 | Havas renamed Vivendi Universal Publishing, and sells off Havas Advertising |
| 2002 | Havas Advertising buys out the name Havas |
By 1968, Havas had become a diversified group which had, inter alia, communications and advertising interests. These interests were incorporated into a société anonyme, Havas Conseil S.A., which expanded its business rapidly.
In 1975, Havas Conseil became Eurocom, holding company of a Group of subsidiaries specializing in various communications activities.
Since the 1970s, the Group has grown significantly in France and internationally, both in the communications and media buying sectors, by broadening the scope of services that it offers and expanding into new communications techniques and technologies.
Havas was first listed on the Paris Bourse (now the Euronext Paris) in 1982. The principal milestones in the Group’s strategic development are the following:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Eurocom acquires the French advertising group RSCG, leading to the creation of the Euro RSCG Worldwide advertising network. RSCG had been the lead advertising agency for Peugeot. |
| Start year | End year | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Eurocom changes its name to Havas Advertising and creates four operating divisions, Euro RSCG, Campus, Diversified Agencies, and Médiapolis. American Bob Schmetterer is named Chairman and CEO of the largest division Euro RSCG, whose headquarters are moved to New York in 1997. | |
| 1998 | Compagnie Générale des Eaux, which changed its name to Vivendi, acquires control of Havas and its subsidiary Havas Advertising. Vivendi is to later consider its advertising and communications interests no longer strategic. | |
| 1998 | 2001 | Following the wave of consolidation within the advertising/communications sector, Havas Advertising adopts an aggressive acquisition strategy in order not to become a takeover target following its independence from Havas. In order to become a bigger and more global player, it acquired MPG and Snyder, as well as around one hundred specialized agencies in America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. This strategy has been criticised by Maurice Levy as "reckless"[2]. |
| 1999 | Creation of "Media Planning Group" by combining the media planning and buying activities of Media Planning, S.A., a Spanish company controlled by Léopoldo Rodés Castañes and his family, with Médiapolis, the Company’s then existing media planning business. Havas initially acquired 45% of MPG, which was increased to 100% in May 2001. With MPG, Havas offers a wide range of media services in major markets worldwide. | |
SNC was a listed communications group controlled by Daniel Snyder, and their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as Direct marketing, database marketing, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations, call centres, field sales.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Following the decision of Havas to rename itself Vivendi Universal Publishing and to divest itself of its remaining stake in the Havas Advertising, the name was acquired by the latter. "Havas Advertising" became "Havas" by decision of the annual shareholders meeting held on 23 May 2002. |
| 2003 | Strategic restructuring and reorganization of the Group around three core divisions announced September : Agencies from the Diversified Agencies division are sold or absorbed into the remaining divisions, Euro RSCG Worldwide (integrated communications); MPG (Media planning and buying) and Arnold Worldwide Partners (advertising). |
| 2004 | Havas completes its strategic reorganization. In July, Bolloré Group starts to build a stake in Havas. In October, the Company completes a €404 million capital increase which enabled it to reduce its overall debt levels. |
| 2005 | Bolloré Group, with a 22% stake, obtains 4 seats on the Havas Board at the Shareholders meeting, and seizes control of the Company. Chairman and CEO Alain de Pouzilhac was deposed in a boardroom coup on 21 June 2005. Vincent Bolloré succeeded as Chairman. Other board and management level changes followed[5]. |
| 2006 | Havas names Fernando Rodés Vilà, son of the founder of Media Planning S.A. Leopoldo Rodés Castañes, as its new CEO in March.
Havas remains listed on Euronext, but announces its plans to delist from the NASDAQ stock exchange as of 28 July 2006[6]. |
Havas’ business consists of providing communication consulting services, through traditional advertising in media, a multitude of various marketing services and media expertise.
Traditional advertising services consist of defining the nature, content and illustrating the advertising message for dissemination through traditional media: television, radio and print and display advertising for the promotion of products or brands.
Other marketing services would include marketing strategies designed to acquire customers or clients through specific or specialised audience targeting. These would include direct marketing, sales promotion, corporate communications, Healthcare Communications, internal communications, Television sponsorship, Design, human resources communications, New media & interactive communications, media planning and media buying.
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