According to a report in the Financial Times, the analyst Frederik Kooij, who works for CSFB, has said that the uncertainty at the company, stemming from its annual general meeting two weeks ago where Vincent Bollore won four seats on the board, could hamper Havas' ability to hold on the big accounts.
"It is a big problem. There is no way this is helping the business," he told the newspaper.
Havas is currently being run by Havas board member Richard Colker, who has taken on the position of as interim chairman chief executive with the support of Havas executives.
TBWA\Worldwide chairman Jean-Marie Dru is expected to be named shortly as the new chief executive and he is currently reported to be holding talks to allow him to leave the Omnicom-owned agency.
Concerns about Havas's clients are real ones. The French advertising group, which owns Euro RSCG Worldwide and MPG, has already suffered major account losses in recent months.
The company resigned its $300m (拢165) Intel account in January and followed this by losing Volkswagen's $500m US media-buying worK, although even through the long period of uncertainty that began last autumn when Bollore started buying up shares, Havas has still managed to win clients including the $250m Radio Shack and the $100m Jaguar accounts.
In the French advertising group's favour, many see Bollore's moves to recruit Dru as a further sign that Bollore has no intention of breaking up the group. De Pouzilhac is also set to stay on the board of Havas until next year and he will continue to manage accounts including Peugeot, with which he has a long-standing relationship.
Since Bollore succeeded in his intention to take four seats on the board of Havas two weeks ago, he has several times stressed that he has invested in the company for the long term.
That viewpoint was reiterated in an interview by Ferdinand Rodes, one of the four board members in charge of Havas in the interim and chief executive of the media division MPG.
The company through which Bollore controls the shares, Bollore Investissements, has signed a deal with Sebastian Holdings to unite their stakes, giving Bollore control of around 26% of Havas.
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