NEW YORK: Havas has acquired Formula PR with plans to rebrand the firm as Havas Formula, the holding company said Monday.
Havas said the firm will maintain practice areas in strategic communications, PR, experiential, and Latino communications. It will work alongside other firms in Havas’ creative group such as Havas Impact, Havas Edge, Havas Luxe, Havas PR, and Havas Latino Group.
The holding company has also obtained Formula Street, its brand-activation arm, and Hispanic PR division Formulatin. The deal closed on Monday.
Formula founder and president Michael Olguin will stay in his current role, reporting to Andrew Bennett, CEO of Havas Worldwide and the Havas Creative Group.
Olguin said his firm had reached a point where it needed to either acquire smaller agencies or get acquired to grow its footprint to compete for larger pieces of business, and it found a "hand in glove" relationship with Havas.
"It really addresses a total market approach," he said. "All the time we get asked if we have creative services, and now we are able to provide a value proposition of creative and digital and now we can do social in a much more expansive way."
Havas chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré said in a statement that Formula is a "best-in-class agency with an impressive client roster, particularly within the consumer and lifestyle category." The agency has worked with clients such as Phillips 66, Dunkin’ Donuts, Nestle, and Heineken.
In 2013, Formula’s revenue grew by 4.5% to nearly $13.1 million. The firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and had 95 staffers as of the end of last year. Its 2014 account wins included granola brand 18 Rabbits, shopping app Boxed, and tablet accessory maker Octa.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
