Vivendi CEO Says Tie-Up With Havas Makes Business Sense

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 [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 16, 2016 13:14 ET (18:14 GMT)

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