• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, May 10, 2012

Havas shareholders approved a resolution at the company’s annual meeting Thursday authorizing the Paris-based ad company to buy back as many as 51.7 million shares representing about $328 million or 12% of the company’s share capitalization. Across the English Channel, shareholders at London-based Aegis Group, also convened for an annual meeting, voted to reelect both the chairman and CEO to the board by wide approval margins.

At the Havas meeting the company said that participating shareholders would receive a 28% premium over the market price for shares. The buyback, it said, would have the effect of adding nearly 11% to the growth in undiluted earnings per share for 2011. The company also said that Havas Chairman Vincent Bollore, who owns about a third of the company, would not participate in the stock buyback.

At the Havas meeting, shareholders also approved a dividend payment of about $65 million -- or roughly 14 cents a share -- payable May 18.

Shareholders were not offered the opportunity to vote on the compensation plan for the company’s top executive officers. Such “say-in-pay” votes have been demanded increasingly in recent years by investors who are seeking greater accountability from top managers. Earlier this week, Aviva CEO Andrew Moss resigned after shareholders rejected his pay package, although the vote was nonbinding.

Earlier this year executive pay became a political issue in France, leading up to country’s presidential elections this month. Specifically, a $21.6 million deferred payment package received by Maurice Levy, CEO of Havas competitor Publicis Groupe, became fodder for politicians looking for a whipping boy on the issue in late March.

Executive payments at Havas and Aegis did not come close to matching that figure, however. Havas CEO David Jones was the top earner, garnering about $2.2 million according to company documents. Jones assumed the top job in March of 2011, replacing Fernando Rodes Vila, who resigned. Still, Rodes was the third-highest-paid executive at the company last year, receiving about $1.6 million, per the documents.

At Aegis, shareholders did have an opportunity to vote on the company’s executive remuneration package and approved it by a huge majority. Only about 13% of the votes cast rejected the package or abstained. The remaining 87% voted in favor. As previously reported, Buhlmann received a total pay package last year of nearly $3 million. Excluding stock options and awards, his pay package increased by about 30% to a little more than $2.55 million, including salary, bonus, benefits and pension payments. Gains from stock options and awards added another roughly $440,000.

Buhlmann, CFO Nick Priday and chairman John Napier were reelected to the board by margins that exceeded 90% of the votes cast.