PUTEAUX CEDEX, FRANCE--(Marketwire - May 31, 2012) -

Puteaux, May 31, 2012

HAVAS ACQUIRES TOP DIGITAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY

Creative Lynx Joins Havas Health

Havas announced today the acquisition of a majority stake in Creative Lynx, the leading digital health and wellness communications agency in Europe, with 26 digital innovation awards in the last three years and a series of industry firsts in social media, closed-loop marketing and mobile.

This move further strengthens Havas' position in the healthcare communications sector, bringing Creative Lynx's digital innovation and creative expertise into the global Havas Worldwide Health network. Havas is already a major player in the healthcare communications landscape with a presence on all continents through Havas Worldwide Health, Euro RSCG Life and Health4Brands. The network handles approximately 30 global brands, including Sanofi, Pfizer and Novartis, and was the first to be named Network of the Year by Adweek and MM&M in the same year, and was also named Network of the Year by MedAdNews.

David Jones, Havas CEO, commented: "Both our healthcare and digital businesses have been experiencing very strong growth and this acquisition that sits at the intersection of those two key areas will further strengthen our capabilities. The fact that Creative Lynx decided to join Havas over many other suitors underlines the unique appeal and exciting momentum of our group."

Creative Lynx's blue-chip client roster includes Johnson & Johnson, GSK, GE and AstraZeneca. Powered by the Havas Health global network, Creative Lynx will be able to service additional clients and markets and grow with a more complete full-service unified offering, from marketing to med-ed, PR to market access. The Havas Health network provides substantial expertise within professional and public relations and medical education to complement Creative Lynx's existing capabilities. In addition, with Creative Lynx's proven expertise in delivering global campaigns, the partnership with the Havas Health network will provide unsurpassed global and local support.

"This partnership will combine industry-leading strategy and insight with award- winning creativity and digital innovation, to deliver best-in-class campaigns," said Donna Murphy, global CEO, Havas Health. "We believe that Creative Lynx's social media prowess, as well as its entrepreneurial style, deep talent pool and future-forward business model, will add great value for our clients."

"The Creative Lynx team and its corporate culture are a great fit with Havas Health-we share roots in entrepreneurship plus community collaboration with clients and teams," said Doug Burcin, global CEO, Havas Health. "Additionally, Creative Lynx will add even more power to Havas Health's already strong arsenal of social and digital capabilities."

"We are excited to be joining the Havas family. Through shared strategy, planning and account resources provided by Havas Health, Creative Lynx will be able to fulfill the needs of a far more significant client base," said David Hunt, digital director, Creative Lynx. "The global infrastructure, expertise and experience available to us now will significantly enhance our growth and capabilities while ensuring that we continue to offer world-class service, support and quality."

For more on Creative Lynx, please visit the agency's website at creativelynx.com.

Further comments:

"We've worked incredibly hard to establish strong client relationships, and this move allows us to build these still further, providing a more comprehensive and complete service to meet the current landscape." said David Whittingham, healthcare director, Creative Lynx.

"Havas represents a fantastic opportunity for us to leverage our innovation across a broader range of clients, markets and services within health and wellness," said Neil Martin, managing director, Creative Lynx. "The additional expertise available within the network will complement our core competencies and allow us to deliver increasingly unified campaigns."

About Havas

Havas (Euronext Paris: HAV.PA) is a global advertising and communications services group. Headquartered in Paris, Havas operates through its two Business Units, Havas Worldwide and Havas Media, in order to optimize synergies and further reinforce Havas' position as the most integrated of all of the major holding companies. Havas Worldwide incorporates the Euro RSCG Worldwide network (233 offices in 75 countries, including the Euro RSCG, Euro RSCG Life, Euro RSCG 4D and Euro RSCG WW PR brands), the Arnold micronetwork (16 agencies in 15 countries on 5 continents) as well as other agencies with strong local identities.

Havas Media operates in over 100 countries and incorporates the MPG, Arena Media, Havas Sports & Entertainment and Havas Digital networks. A multicultural and decentralized Group, Havas is present in more than 75 countries through its networks of agencies and contractual affiliations. The Group offers a broad range of communications services, including traditional advertising, direct marketing, media planning and buying, corporate communications, sales promotion, design, human resources, sports marketing, multimedia interactive communications and public relations. Havas employs approximately 15,000 people. Further information about Havas is available on the company's website: [ www.havas.com ].

About Creative Lynx

Established in 1986, Creative Lynx is one of the U.K.'s leading design and digital agencies, currently ranked 35th of all U.K. design groups in Marketing Week's annual survey. Creative Lynx is based in Manchester with a regional office in Geneva, Switzerland, and specializes in the healthcare, education and public sectors. As a leading digital healthcare communications agency, Creative Lynx has been behind some of the most pioneering innovations within the sector, combining stunning design, digital innovation and sector insight to deliver campaigns that have a real-world impact. The agency counts among its clients Johnson & Johnson, GSK, GE and AstraZeneca. For more on the firm, please visit [ www.creativelynx.com ].

About Havas Worldwide Health

Havas Worldwide Health is the umbrella company for Euro RSCG Life and Health4Brands, two wholly owned global health communications networks. With more than 60 offices in 50 countries, the Havas Worldwide Health network has a uniquely unified model offering strategy, promotion, medical education, market access, PR and digital solutions inside each agency asset. For more information about Havas Health, visit the company's website at [ www.havashealth.com ].

 29-30 quai de Dion Bouton 92817 Puteaux Cedex, France Tel +33 (0) 1 58 47 80 00 Fax +33 (0) 1 58 47 99 99 SA au capital de 172 432 004,40EUR- 335 480 265 RCS Nanterre - APE 7311Z www.havas.com - Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HavasGroup/ 

Press release: [ http://hugin.info/143438/R/1616481/515559.pdf ]

This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:

(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and

(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: HAVAS via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1616481]