Havas ‘could be interested’ to buy or partner with some of Dentsu’s international assets

Havas has said it “could be interested” in acquiring or partnering with some of Dentsu’s international assets, although the Japanese agency group is “too big” to buy outright.

François Laroze, the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Havas, said on its Q3 earnings call that “we certainly would consider” a discussion with Dentsu, which he described as “a very strong and big asset all over the world with a nice network”, although he said there has been no contact.

France’s Havas has historic links to Dentsu because the Bollore Groupe, the top shareholder in Havas, used to own a big stake in Aegis Group, before it was acquired by Dentsu to expand its international business in 2012.

Dentsu said in August it was considering a number of strategic options, including a possible sale of its international business, and appointed bankers, which has fuelled speculation about a potential M&A deal.

“We have not been contacted by Dentsu,” Laroze said on the earnings call. “We know that it's a very strong and big asset all over the world with a nice network, with some acquisitions, which have been done over the last two or three years.”

He went on: “Clearly, Havas as a group does not project itself as a buyer for the entire international network. It would be too big for Havas, looking at its balance sheet. Nevertheless, we remain very agile.

“If we were to be proposed some partnership or some disposal of certain assets, we certainly would consider that. We do not intend to study the network as a whole, but could be interested in part of it or in a partnership with some of the agencies of the network. We consider it a great asset.”

Analysts at Madison & Wall said of Laroze’s comments: “They appear very open to finding some kind of arrangement involving both companies together in some form.”

Havas also recently agreed a partnership between Havas Media and US independent agency Horizon Media.

Asked if Dentsu had a response to Laroze’s comments, a spokesperson referred Campaign to a previous statement about a potential sale of the international business and declined to comment further.

Dentsu had said earlier it was “exploring strategic alternatives to enhance corporate value, but no decision has been made at this time”, adding: “Should any matters arise that require disclosure, the company will make an announcement in a timely and appropriate manner.”

Industry analysts have suggested both Publicis Groupe and Havas could be potential acquirers of Dentsu’s international business, although Arthur Sadoun, the chief executive of Publicis, ruled out the idea of a big M&A deal at an investment conference at the start of September.

Sadoun reiterated in an interview with Campaign this week that he was not interested in Dentsu’s international assets and linked that to Omnicom’s impending acquisition of Interpublic.

“We have a very different view than Omnicom when it comes to the future,” Sadoun said. “We believe consolidation of more of the same, for the sake of efficiencies, is yesterday’s logic and that, of course, includes what you [a holding company] could do with Dentsu.”

Omnicom is set to be the largest agency group, following its acquisition of IPG, with Publicis and WPP ranked next largest and then Dentsu and Havas.

Dentsu is roughly three times the size of Havas by global headcount and stock market value. Dentsu is valued at about ¥817billion ($5.4 billion) and Havas €1.5bn ($1.8 billion).

Havas raised its 2025 outlook after reporting 3.8% growth in Q3.