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Havas slams the door on WPP takeover chatter

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PARIS: Yannick Bolloré has had enough of the gossip. The Havas chief executive told employees on 17 November  that his French advertising group is “not in discussions with WPP” about taking a stake in the embattled British rival—despite a weekend of frenzied speculation that sent WPP’s battered shares rocketing 11 per cent.

The Times had reported that Havas was eyeing either a chunk of WPP or its media agency arm, prompting talk that private equity sharks Apollo and KKR were also circling. An American advertising executive poured petrol on the flames by telling Adweek the two sides were in “very serious” discussions. By Monday morning, WPP shares were the FTSE 100’s biggest climber.

Bolloré’s internal memo, seen by multiple outlets, sought to kill the chatter stone dead. “Given the recent press coverage amplifying these rumours and the questions we’ve received from colleagues and clients, we want to clarify that we are not in discussions with WPP,” he wrote. Havas, he noted, delivered 3.8 per cent organic growth in the third quarter—outpacing rivals whilst WPP stumbles.

The Paris-based group does have an appetite for deals, Bolloré acknowledged, but prefers “bolt-on and targeted acquisitions” to mega-mergers. “While we could consider a larger acquisition aligned with our strategy,” he added, “there are currently no ongoing discussions of that nature.”

WPP needs all the help it can get. Its shares plunged 16 per cent in late October to their lowest level since 1998, after another round of missed forecasts. Chief executive Cindy Rose called the performance “unacceptable” and drafted in McKinsey to devise a turnaround strategy. The company’s market value has cratered from £25 billion in 2017 to roughly £3 billion today, putting its FTSE 100 membership in jeopardy.

The frenzy underscores how desperate investors are for consolidation in a sector squeezed by digital platforms and shrinking budgets. Omnicom’s $13.5 billion swoop on Interpublic Group is set to close this month, whilst Dentsu is mulling a sale of its international operations.

For now, though, Havas is keeping its powder dry. Bolloré signed off by urging staff to ignore the “rumours and noise” and focus on the firm’s AI-driven strategy. Translation: don’t hold your breath for a white knight rescue of WPP.

Here’s the full contents of the internal note: 

Dear all,
It’s our policy not to comment on market rumors, however, given the recent press coverage amplifying these rumors and the questions we’ve received from colleagues and clients, we want to clarify that we are not in discussions with WPP.
As you know, Havas has delivered strong results over the past months in a world full of uncertainties. In Q3, we achieved organic growth of +3.8%, outperforming the market, reflecting remarkable client wins and expanded collaborations with long-standing partners. Thanks to your commitment and energy, we continue to reinforce our market position and drive growth.
Havas has a strategy of bolt-on and targeted acquisitions that contributes to our strong momentum, alongside strategic partnerships. While we could consider a larger acquisition aligned with our strategy, as stated during our Q3 earnings announcement a few weeks ago, there are currently no ongoing discussions of that nature.
Undistracted by rumors and noise, we remain focused on accelerating the deployment of our Converged.AI strategy, driving group-wide AI adoption, and delivering excellence for our clients and prospects.
Let’s keep pushing forward with ambition and confidence, shaping the future of our industry together.

Sincerely,
Yannick

MAM

Nielsen launches co-viewing pilot to sharpen TV measurement

Super Bowl pilot to refine how shared TV audiences are counted

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MUMBAI: Nielsen is taking a fresh stab at one of television’s oldest blind spots: how many people are actually watching the same screen. The audience-measurement giant on February 4 unveiled a co-viewing pilot that uses wearable devices to better capture shared viewing, starting with America’s biggest broadcast stage.

The trial begins with Super Bowl LX on NBC on February 8, 2026, before extending to other high-profile live sports and entertainment events in the first half of the year. The goal is simple but commercially potent: count viewers more accurately, especially during live spectacles that pull families and friends to one screen.

The new approach leans on Nielsen’s proprietary wearable meters, wrist-worn devices that resemble smartwatches. These passively capture audio signatures from TV content, logging exposure to shows, films and live events without requiring viewers to sign in or self-report. In theory, fewer clicks, fewer lapses, better data.

Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s ceo, cast the move as part of a broader measurement push. He said the company’s task is to keep pushing accuracy as clients invest heavily in live programming that draws mass audiences. The co-viewing pilot, he added, builds on upgrades such as Big Data + Panel measurement, out-of-home expansion, live-streaming metrics and wearable-based tracking.

Co-viewing is not new territory for Nielsen, which has long tried to estimate how many people sit before a single set. What is new is the heavier integration of wearables and passive detection to reduce reliance on active inputs from panel homes.

For now, the pilot comes with caveats. Co-viewing estimates from the trial will not be folded into Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings, which remain the industry’s trading currency. Instead, pilot findings will be shared with clients a few weeks after final Big Data + Panel ratings are delivered. Clients may disclose those findings publicly.

More impact data will follow later this year. Full integration into Nielsen’s marketing-intelligence suite is slated as a longer-term play, with a target of bringing co-viewing into currency measurement for the 2026–2027 season. This is only phase one, with further co-viewing enhancements planned beyond 2026 and additional timelines to be announced.

The push fits a wider pattern. Nielsen has in recent years expanded big-data integration, adopted first-party data for live-streaming measurement and broadened out-of-home tracking. It also positions itself as the reference point for streaming metrics through products such as The Gauge and the Nielsen Streaming Top 10.

In a market where billions of ad dollars hinge on decimal points, counting who is in the room matters. If Nielsen can pin down shared viewing, the humble sofa could become prime measurement real estate. The race to count every eyeball just found a new wrist to watch.

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Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

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Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

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Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships

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SINGAPORE: Anuvrat Rao has taken charge as APAC  head of commerce and signals partnerships at Meta, steering monetisation deals across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from Singapore. The former Google executive, known for launching Google Assistant, PWAs, AMP and Firebase across Asia-Pacific, steps into the role after a high-growth stint as chief business officer at Locofy.ai.

At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.

Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.

Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.

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