Havas Group makes Shobiz as third acquisition in India in less than one year

Havas Group, a French advertising group, has just announced the acquisition of Indian experiential agency, Shobiz Experiential Communications, by scooping up a majority stake in the agency. Without disclosing the deal amount, this is Havas’ third acquisition in India in this year.

Shobiz, which employs over 300 people across five offices in the country, is a multi-disciplinary communications agency which provide services that include strategic planning, communication and content design, creative, graphic and architectural design, audience acquisition, production and logistics. Its CEO, Sameer Tobaccowala, will continue to oversee the company’s business along with Vishnu Mohan, the Chairman and CEO of Havas Group Indian and South East Asia.

“With the acquisition of Shobiz we have delivered on our ambitious growth plan to triple our footprint in India,” Havas Group Chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré said.

Tobaccowala added that the acquisition would help the two entities unlock growth opportunities for one another as well as increase customer trust and relationships.

“Shobiz marks an important capability addition to the group’s presence in the market—it makes our value proposition as a village more holistic than ever and enables us to bring this service capability to our current clients and future prospects,” said Vishnu Mohan, Chairman and CEO of Havas Group India & South East Asia.

Shobiz Chief Operational Officer, Tejpal Singh Patpatia, is set to lead the agency’s daily activities and will report to Havas Group India CEO, Rana Barua.

Shobiz marks the group’s third acquisition in India for this year alone. It had previously acquired Think Design, a leading independent user experience consultancy and design studio, which was followed by the acquisition of Langoor, a full-service digital agency led and driven by creative technologists in September.

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