Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
- antecedents (1832)
- beginnings (1879)
- splits (1940)
- Eurocom (1982)
- acquired by CGE (1997)
- Vivendi exits (2001)
Context is provided by the broader communications/media timeline and a more detailed timeline for the Havas publishing arm as part of the Vivendi profile.
Antecedents
1832 Charles-Louis Havas establishes foreign newspaper translation agency and bookshop
1835 Agence Havas news and advertising agency founded
1853 Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) founded in Paris as civil engineering and utilities company
1866 first volume of Larousse's Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIXe Siecle published
Beginnings
1879 Agence Havas becomes public company, family sells interests for 7m francs
1880 CGE supplies water to Venice
1880 Avenir outdoor advertising service founded
1882 CGE supplies water to Istanbul
1920 merger of Agence Havas and Société Générale des Annonces advertising agency
Splits
1940 French legislation splits Agence Havas, with news service nationalised as Office Français d'Information (later Agence Française de Presse)
1958 advertising arm becomes Havas Conseil
1968 Havas Conseil becomes corporation
1970 establishment of Roux Seguela
1972 Roux Seguela merges with Cayzac
1975 Havas Conseil reconstituted as Eurocom holding company
1976 Roux Seguela Cayzac merges with Goudard as RSCG
1980 CGE buys Compagnie Generale de Chauffe, becomes largest private energy group in France
Eurocom
1982 Eurocom listed on Paris Bourse as subsidiary of Havas media group
1982 merges with the Goulet group
1983 CGE and Havas media group establish Canal+ pay television group
1984 Schmitter Media Agentur founded by Horst Schmitter
1985 Bouygues Loisirs and Havas found Latitudes joint venture
1987 French government sells stake in Havas
1988 CGE buys global construction group Société Générale d'Enterprises
1988 Noonan/Russo Communications founded by Susan Noonan and Anthony Russo
1989 merges UK outdoor and cinema advertising interests with those of MAI (eg Pearl & Dean, Brunton Curtis) - MAI subsequently dilutes interest to under 15%
1991 merger with RSCG as Euro RSCG Worldwide
1991 buys Brunton Curtis outdoor advertising group for £3.5m
1994 establishes Mediapolis global media buying and consulting network in partnership with Young & Rubicam
1996 Euro RSCG Worldwide renamed Havas Advertising
1996 CGE subsidiary Cegetel becomes second largest telecommunications operator in France
1996 Havas corporate and leisure travel arm Havas Voyages SA forms joint venture with American Express
1997 Havas Advertising moves global headquarters to New York
Acquired by CGE
1997 CGE buys 30% of Havas
1998 CGE group renamed Vivendi, buys rest of Havas
1998 American Express buys Havas Voyages SA (leisure activity later sold to Thomas Cook)
1998 Vivendi buys Cendant Software and Anaya (second largest education and multimedia publisher in Spain)
1999 Vivendi sells Havas' outdoor advertising operations to J C Decaux of France for £652m
1999 Havas Advertising merges with Media Planning
1999 buys Jordan McGrath Case
2000 Vivendi buys media and beverage conglomerate Seagram for US$34bn, becomes Vivendi Universal
2000 Vivendi sells spirits and wines business to Diageo and Pernod Ricard for US$8.1bn
2001 Havas Advertising merges with Snyder Communications group
2001 buys Havas name from Vivendi Universal for €4.5m
2001 buys Noonan/Russo Communications
2001 buys McKinney & Silver
2001 buys Grupo Lorente
2001 buys remaining 55% of Madrid-based Media Planning Group
2001 £425m acquisition of Tempus Advertising does not proceed
Vivendi exits
2001 Vivendi sells its 9.9% stake in Havas Advertising for €453m
2002 shareholders meeting changes the group's name from 'Havas' Advertising' to 'Havas'
2002 buys Frankfurt-based independent media agency, Schmitter Media Agentur
2004 announces MBO of 75% of WCRS agency as part of plans to scale back Arnold Worldwide Partners
2005 French industrialist Vincent Bolloré gains control of Havas board