Havas Group: Bolloré-Led Holding Company Profile

Originally published July 2026. Updated October 14, 2026.

What is Havas Group?

Havas is a French advertising, media and communications group that has been Bolloré-controlled for years and has been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since December 2024. It runs creative, media and health networks, and its PR work sits in brands such as Havas Formula PR.

Who controls Havas?

Havas's February 20, 2026 release said Bolloré SE held 30.4% since the listing, that Compagnie de l'Étoile des Mers had acquired close to 19% in recent months, and that Yannick Bolloré would become chairman of Compagnie de l'Étoile des Mers after transferring his own 2.9% stake to it. Dutch AFM filings from February 2026 show notifications by Vincent Bolloré for these holdings. EPR's earlier version said the family had moved above 50% at the start of 2026, which is consistent with 30.4% plus about 22%, but the release does not state a combined figure.

What happened with Shell and B Corp?

Havas took a global Shell media-buying contract, and Campaign Asia dates it to September 2023 while other outlets describe it as late 2024. Clean Creatives and a coalition of 26 B Corp agencies complained to B Lab, which concluded Havas's actions breached the B Corp community's values. Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York and Havas Immerse lost certification in 2025, and other Havas brands cannot certify until Havas takes remediation steps it declined to adopt, per Mumbrella and ESG Post. Havas accepted the ruling. EPR's earlier version cited a roughly 70 million pound annual value, which could not be confirmed.

How does Havas compare with other holding companies?

Havas is one of the large global agency groups, so compare it with Omnicom and EPR's other holding-company pages. EPR's earlier version ranked it the smallest of five holding companies, which was not verified here.

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Related: PR agency profiles, Omnicom Group, Havas Formula PR