Vivendi CEO Says Tie-Up With Havas Makes Business Sense
November 16 2016 - 1:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
BARCELONA--Vivendi SA Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine
Wednesday said there is a clear business case for a tie-up with
Havas SA, although no merger talks are underway.
"There is a capacity to reinforce each other," Mr. de
Puyfontaine said at a Morgan Stanley conference in Barcelona.
"There is a convergence between media and content and marketing and
advertising."
French tycoon Vincent Bolloré owns around 60% of Havas and 15%
of Vivendi through his family-controlled group. In the past two
years, Mr. Bolloré has fostered closer cooperation between
Vivendi's units in a bid to create an industrial integrated content
group with a focus on Southern Europe. In May, he nominated his son
Yannick, chief executive of Havas, to the board of Vivendi.
Havas competitor WPP PLC invested in French media group Les
Nouvelles Éditions Indépendantes in September, a move Mr. de
Puyfontaine pointed to as further evidence of convergence between
media and advertising groups.
"More and more it's a fine line between the two types of
operations. There is a solid proposition that can make one plus one
can equal three, four or five," he said.
Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 16, 2016 13:14 ET (18:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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