Havas CEO says it is ‘not in discussions with WPP’

Havas chair and CEO Yannick Bolloré has shot down rumours that his company is plotting a move on rival holding company WPP, according to Bloomberg.

In an email that was sent to employees on Monday and seen by Bloomberg, Bolloré said that the company is “not in discussions with WPP.” 

Bolloré told staff that the company has a strategy of “targeted acquisitions,” and while it would “consider a larger acquisition” aligned with that strategy, he said there are “currently no ongoing discussions of that nature.”

Rumours about a potential deal between Havas and WPP began swirling over the weekend, after The Times reported that the French holding company had been looking at a takeover of the company.

Not long ago, WPP was the largest holding company in the world, but has been staggered by a series of business headwinds this year. The Times also reported that private equity firms Apollo and KKR have reviewed WPP’s assets. 

The Times quoted one source as saying that it might look to purchase the UK holding company’s media division, WPP Media, while another source said that it could build a “sizeable stake” in the company.

While Bollore is denying it now, Havas has not been shy about such deals. The company has demonstrated a “robust” appetite for M&A activity, said Forrester analyst Jay Pattisall when contemplating potential buyers for Dentsu earlier this year. 

He said that some of these deals, such as its $75 million acquisition of digital communications group FullSix in 2015, and 2023’s majority acquisition of Uncommon, have been “transformative” for the company.

In September, Havas and U.S. media agency group Horizon Media announced a new joint venture called Horizon Holdings that boasts $20 billion in combined global billings and plans to seek "U.S.-centric global client opportunities," even as its constituent agencies service existing clients and pursue new business.

At the time, Campaign wrote that the venture "creates the kind of scale that will allow the two players to better compete for global clients potentially shaken free by the instability in the market arising from [the Omnicom/IPG deal] or potential future deals."'

The impending merger of Omnicom and IPG is poised to open up some opportunities for Havas, Bolloré told Impact in the June interview. But while describing scale as “very important” in any business, he added that “it’s good to be the challenger.” The goal for Havas, he stressed, is not to be the largest group, but the best.

This article first appeared in Campaign Canada.