Havas Group has acquired a majority stake in PR agency PR Pundit. The entity will be rebranded as PR Pundit Havas Red, marking the entry of Havas’ global PR network Havas Red into India.
PR Pundit is billed as an integrated communications consultancy with over 100 retainer clients and 160 practitioners across offices in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.
The 25-year-old outfit has been an affiliate of Havas in India for some time, informed an official statement.
For Havas Red, this follows the opening of Havas Red South Africa earlier in 2023.
Archana Jain, Founder and Managing Director of PR Pundit, will continue to lead PR Pundit Havas Red, reporting to Rana Barua, Group CEO of Havas India and James Wright, Global CEO of Havas Red.
“We are thrilled to welcome PR Pundit to the Havas family. The synergies between PR Pundit’s expertise, Havas India’s clients, and the global PR clients of Havas Red are exceptionally strong, setting the stage for many meaningful collaborations. With the backing of Vivendi and their extensive entertainment assets in India, the expansion into PR, communications and social media is a strategic move that aligns perfectly with the evolving landscape of the market and industry,” commented Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and Global CEO, Havas.
Jain, who founded PR Pundit in 1998, said, “Joining Havas will enable us to enrich our services and geographic reach for the benefit of our clients. We are excited to lend our expertise and entrepreneurial drive as well as share our local PR understanding with Havas Red in our common goal of undertaking benchmarking work and fostering long term partnerships, with our people and clients. Our relationship is based on shared values to elevate service capabilities, open doors to new opportunities and embrace best practices from around the world.”
Barua said, “This acquisition once again reinforces our commitment of delivering comprehensive and impactful solutions to our clients. In our endeavour to offer integrated end-to-end communication solutions, we identified that the PR function was a missing piece. This acquisition brings together two extremely powerful entities – Havas Red, which has presence across 15 global markets with unmatched influence and reach, and PR Pundit, one of the most respected PR agencies in India with unparalleled brand reputation and a robust clientele. I welcome team PR Pundit to the Havas India family. Together with Havas Red, I look forward to the beginning of an exciting journey.”
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