• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 7, 2005

After months of speculation over potential media buying alliances, Havas Thursday said it agreed to form a joint buying venture with WPP Group. The new unit, which would be called 2MV, would be focused in Europe and would be controlled 51 percent by Havas' MPG unit, with WPP's Group M holding a 49 percent stake.

The move is ironic, because Havas' MPG unit recently lost one of its biggest accounts, the U.S. media buying assignment for Volkswagen, which was consolidated at MediaCom Worldwide, now a part of Group M.

But according to a report by Reuters, the new joint venture has a pragmatic impetus related to another automotive media account altogether: French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen's.

Yves Del Frate, global account director at MPG who will head the new unit, told Reuters 2MV was formed to pitch the French automakers account, and was "not a big agreement we have been talking about for some time."

There were rumors late last year that Havas was in talks with Interpublic to form a joint media buying venture that would have combined all or part of MPG with elements of Interpublic media units FCB Media, Initiative and Universal McCann, but that never came to fruition. Some say the deal was blocked by influential Havas investor Vincent Bollore, a French corporate raider who himself has been seeking control of Havas and may have his own plans in mind.

Meanwhile, the collaboration of MPG and Group M is remarkable for another reason. If the alliance manages to win the Peugeot account, it would mean that Group M agencies would handle three competing automotive accounts. MindShare handles Ford, while MediaCom handles Volkswagen.