Havas to acquire Riverorchid, leading independent agency in Indochina

Puteaux, September 9, 2015 – Significant expansion for the global Havas group across Indochina Havas today announced its planned acquisition of Riverorchid, an award-winning agency network based in Indochina with specialist operations in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The acquisition is aimed to be completed by the end of the year.

This strategic move will see Havas become the only global group with operations in all five countries of Indochina, further strengthening its physical presence across nine out of ten Southeast Asian economies.

Riverorchid brings a team of approximately 250 people offering integrated solutions including advertising, media, PR, research and digital. Along with a host of other international awards, Riverorchid has won the highly regarded Campaign Asia Pacific Creative Agency of the Year Award Gold Trophy for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar for three years running. It also won both the Gold and Silver Awards for Media Agency of the Year for Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar in 2014.

With its fully integrated servicing structure and offer, Riverorchid already mirrors the Havas Village concept which is being set in place in all Havas offices globally to embody the theme of working “Together”. This concept is a competitive advantage for Havas, which allows teams to collaborate across agencies and capabilities, providing the highest level of expertise and the most creative integrated offering possible.

This expansion is significant in that Havas will now have new operations in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, while boosting its operations in Thailand and Vietnam.

Present at the signing ceremony in Phnom Penh was Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas, along with the founding partners of Riverorchid, Pick Pimolsaengsuriya and Warwick Olds.

Simultaneously, Havas Media Group Asia Pacific officially sealed its acquisition of a majority stake in its franchisee partner Havas Media Vietnam, a media agency that employs 50 professionals. Hung Do Trong, the current CEO will continue to helm the agency reporting to Vishnu Mohan, CEO of Havas Media Group APAC. Havas Media Vietnam currently offers digital and offline media planning and buying services through its offices based in Ho Chi Minh. The agency’s key clients include Unilever, Vietnam Airlines, Sanofi & Masan.

“With over 230 million people in one of the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic regions, Indochina is a tremendously exciting market for Havas and its clients. Acquiring Riverorchid shows our commitment to growth in Asia Pacific and this is a significant step in that direction along with the acquisition of our historical affiliate Havas Media Vietnam,” commented Yannick Bolloré.

Riverorchid CEO, Pick Pimolsaengsuriya said: “Our goal in Riverorchid has always been to offer clients the best in integrated communications services in Indochina, and we’ve focused on building a deep understanding of this region. Our partnership with Havas brings to us and our clients numerous technologies and processes, as well as an innovative culture which we are confident will help steer us to become Indochina’s premier agency.”

“We are committed to establishing a strong presence across Southeast Asia and Riverorchid is a good fit for the Havas network with its perfectly matched entrepreneurial and innovative spirit,” added Levent Guenes, COO of Havas Worldwide Southeast Asia.

About Havas
Havas is one of the world’s largest global communications groups. Founded in 1835 in Paris, the Group now employs 17,500 people in over 100 countries. Havas is committed to being the world’s best company at creating meaningful connections between people and brands through creativity, media and innovation. Havas is also the most integrated Group in its sector, with most of its creative and media teams sharing the same premises, the Havas Villages, designed to increase synergies and creativity for all its clients and agencies.

Havas is organized into two divisions: Havas Creative Group and Havas Media Group. Havas Creative Group incorporates the Havas Worldwide network (havasworldwide.com), 316 offices in 75 countries, the Arnold micronetwork (arn.com), 15 agencies in 12 countries, as well as several leading agencies including BETC. Havas Media Group (havasmediagroup.com) operates in over 100 countries, and incorporates four major commercial brands: Havas Media (havasmedia.com), Arena Media (arena-media.com), Forward Media and Havas Sports & Entertainment (havas-se.com). Further information about Havas is available on the company’s website: havas.com

About Riverorchid
Established in 2000, Riverorchid is an integrated communications agency specialising in Indochina, and is the only agency to operate across all five countries of the region: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. With over 250 staff, Riverorchid offers Advertising, Activation, Media, Digital, PR, Retail and Research services.

With a wide spectrum both international and local clients, Riverorchid has been recognised internationally with an array of creative and effectiveness awards, as well as garnering the prestigious Campaign Asia-Pacific Creative Agency of the Year Gold Award for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar for the past three years running; and both the Gold and Silvers for Media Agency of the Year Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar for 2014.

The agency’s ‘mojo’ of “Loving, Knowing, Living Indochina” embodies the commitment Riverorchid has to the region and to an unparalleled understanding of it. More than 80% of Riverorchid’s staff are from Indochina; with 60% of senior management being Indochinese nationals, complemented by expatriates with broad blue chip experience on both client and agency side.

Further information about Riverorchid is available on the company’s website: riverorchid.com

SOURCE: Havas