The Havas Group announces it is in exclusive negotations to acquire Fullsix Group

Paris, September 24, 2015 – The Havas Group today announced it has entered into exclusive negotiations with the management of FullSIX Group and Motion Equity Partners, in view of acquiring FullSIX, one of Europe’s leading independent digital communications groups. The transaction, expected to close during the month of October, is subject to a consultation process with FullSIX staff representatives.

Founded in 1998 in Paris by Marco Tinelli and his partners, FullSIX generates gross margin of around €60 million and employs over 600 people based in France, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States and Italy.

The acquisition will be a key growth driver for both groups.

Yannick Bolloré, Havas CEO, had this to say: “I am delighted to welcome all the FullSIX talents into the Havas family. We share common values and we both put innovation and integration at the heart of everything we do. I am confident that Marco and his team will further reinforce Havas’ expertise on behalf of our clients, and that Havas will provide FullSIX with a major new source of growth.”

Marco Tinelli, FullSIX Group President, added: “We are happy and proud to be joining the Havas Group. This is an enormous opportunity for the FullSIX Group and all its talents and clients. We will continue to drive the market forward, with even greater ambition than before. Havas is a dynamic, entrepreneurial group that will bring us the clout, the network and the talents we need to develop even faster. FullSIX will add to and develop the Havas Group’s Digital & Data scope and expertise. We are very close in terms of culture, our knowhow is largely complementary and our ambitions are the same.”

Marco Tinelli will continue as President of the FullSIX group and Yannick Bolloré will oversee the process of integrating entities into the Group.

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 micro-network (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 international networks: 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 FullSIX
The Paris-based FullSIX Group is a leading full-service independent marketing and communications group. Employing a workforce of over 600, including almost 400 in France, the FullSIX Group covers the full range of Data, Digital, Communications and Media expertise via 16 agencies. As a committed partner to its advertisers, FullSIX supports its clients at every stage from brand strategy and construction to the development of campaigns and relational platforms, all the way through to performance measurement.

The group is made up of a number of specialist networks, including: FullSIX, Ekino, Fullsix Air, Fullsix Search, Fullsix Media and Fullsix Data. Its client roster is headed by such well-known names as Sainsbury’s, Renault, Vodafone, Portugal Telecom, Bayer, L’Oréal, SFR, Canal +, Aéroports de Paris, Merck, MAAF, PSA, Altaréa and LVMH. Further information about FullSIX is available on the company website: www.fullsix.com

SOURCE: Havas