Havas to buy Tempus

July 19, 2001 Posted: 0830 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- French advertising agency Havas has agreed to buy UK media-buying firm Tempus for up to £425 million ($603 million) in cash.

Havas will become the world's fourth-largest advertising group if the deal gets the backing of shareholders, the two companies said in a statement.

Havas is offering 541 pence in cash per Tempus share, a 50 percent premium over its closing price in London on Wednesday of 360.5 pence. The offer values the UK company at £425 million.

Havas is currently in fifth place in the advertising world rankings, behind UK-based WPP Group (WPP) Interpublic (IPG: Research, Estimates) and Omnicom (OMC: Research, Estimates) of the U.S. and Japan's Dentsu.

"Together we will have billings of over $14 billion and strong positions in the U.S., European and South American markets as well as a growing Asian presence," said Tempus Chairman Chris Ingram.

Havas expects to reap big benefits from merging Tempus's media-buying arm with its subsidiary, Media Planning Group. The acquisition is part of Havas's strategy to boost revenue mix in marketing and media services.

Rival WPP has accrued a near-25 percent stake in Tempus and Havas will have to gain the support of its shareholders. WPP also owns the Mindshare media-buying operation.

If the deal is closed, two-thirds of Havas's billings will be in Europe, 25 percent in North America and most of the remainder in Latin America, according to the Financial Times.

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