Havas Group Acquires Buzzman in Paris

Havas Group today announced the acquisition of a 51% stake in Buzzman, France's most awarded independent advertising agency.

Buzzman was founded in 2006 by Georges Mohammed-Chérif, keen to put the power of digital culture to work for brands. With the founding of Buzzman, he created a whole new model of a 100% independent advertising agency combining supreme creativity with an advanced understanding of consumer engagement. Buzzman has since become one of the most awarded agencies in the market and is acclaimed as one of the boldest and most creative in Europe.

Working alongside associates Thomas Granger (since 2009); Julien Levilain (since 2011), Olivier Amsallem (since 2007), Tristan Daltroff and Louis Audard (since 2010), and Clément Scherrer (since 2015), Georges Mohammed-Chérif has instilled in his teams a powerful culture and working methods rooted in exacting standards, autonomy and solidarity. Paris-based Buzzman reports a gross margin of 12.3M€. Its 140 staff leverage creativity and entertainment to profoundly influence consumer perceptions, behaviours and practices. Pushing the boundaries of traditional advertising and creating innovative concepts, Buzzman gives brands a way to engage with their audiences through powerful storytelling.

Buzzman works with brands such as Burger King, PMU, Boursorama Banque, Ikea, Ouibus (SNCF), Fleury Michon, Hippopotamus, Mondelez (Oreo, Milka), EasyJet, L’Oréal (Diesel, Puma Fragrances, Garnier), Huawei, NRJ Mobile, PayPal, BMW and more.

In keeping with the entrepreneurial and decentralised spirit embraced by Havas, Buzzman will now become part of the Group's creative division, whilst retaining its independence in its 10th arrondissement offices. The entire management team, headed by Georges Mohammed-Chérif, will continue to run the agency.

Yannick Bolloré, chairman and CEO Havas Group said: "I am delighted and proud that Buzzman is joining Havas. Welcome aboard! Georges was one of the earliest advertising pioneers to seize the amazing opportunities that digital has to offer. He made all the right decisions and took a bold step at just the right moment, launching a startup that has since become a creative force to be reckoned with, in France and beyond. This deal ties in perfectly with our determination to position Havas at the convergence of communications and entertainment since becoming part of Vivendi.”

Georges Mohammed-Chérif, president and creative director of Buzzman, said: "In recent years, Buzzman has been the target of repeated approaches from leading communications and consulting groups. The reason why we have now chosen to go with Havas is Yannick Bolloré's readiness to listen and his grasp of what it is that underpins our extraordinary creativity: our independence. The one non-negotiable condition for joining the Havas Group was maintaining our autonomy. We will now be able to take advantage of the synergies offered by the network and expand the field of opportunities, whilst holding fast to Buzzman's recipe for success from the outset: exacting standards, outspokenness and boldness."