The deal will create the world's fourth-largest advertising and media network, combining CIA with Havas's own media-buying operation, the Media Planning Group. The two will merge to form a new network called CIA Media Planning.
Havas also owns Euro RSCG Worldwide and a number of other agencies.
In a huge stroke of coincidence, the news of the deal comes on the same day as Cordiant Communications and Publicis Groupe announce that they have finally come to an agreement over their jointly owned Zenith Media.
The two are to create the world's fourth-largest media-buying group by transferring Publicis's Optimedia and Cordiant's share in Zenith Media into a new UK-based holding company called NewCo. The company will be 75% owned by Publicis.
In the UK alone, the Havas deal will create a group with billings of £428.9m, according to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10's top 300 agency report. This would propel the group to the number four position in the UK behind MediaCom, Carat and Zenith Media.
Independently, CIA was the UK's 12th-largest agency with £242.1m in billings and Media Planning was the UK's 14th-largest with £186.2m.
Shares in Tempus closed last night at 360.5p, but in early trading this morning they had leapt to 541p. Havas is paying a premium for CIA, based on its current valuation. It was recently valued at around £332m.
However, the benefits it will get from merging with CIA could make the price more than worthwhile. The merger will give the French group the scale, in terms of media planning and buying, that it has previously lacked.
Ingram will, upon completion of the offer, join Leopoldo Rodes Castane, chairman of MPG, as co-chairman of the new group, while Fernando Rodes will become CEO of the enlarged group. MPG. Mainardo de Nardis, currently CEO of CIA, will become the CEO of CIA Media Planning. Ingram will also join the board of directors of Havas.
Commenting on the transaction, Alain de Pouzilhac, chairman and CEO of Havas, said, "Tempus's business is highly complementary with our own media division and together we are creating the world's fourth-largest media specialist. This transaction would enable us, well ahead of schedule, to achieve our 2003 objective set out in the three-year plan for MPG to rank among the top five media services groups worldwide. It would also further improve our marketing and media business mix to 65% of revenue and so contribute to targets of growth and margin expansion."
The deal has been agreed by the Tempus board including chairman Chris Ingram, who owns 16% of Tempus shares.
Globally, the combined group would still trail the Omnicom Group-owned OMD, MindShare and the B|Com3 media buyer StarCom MediaVest.
However, it is unclear what role has been played by other Tempus's shareholders, notably WPP Group chief Sir Martin Sorrell. WPP owns a 22% stake in Tempus.
Sir Martin will be looking closely at the implication for his own media-buying network MindShare, the UK's number five but also a player in the US.
In June, WPP was believed to be pursuing a share-swap deal that would see it swap its stake in media-buying group Tempus for a stake in larger rival Aegis, which owns Carat.
Such a deal would have seen WPP swap its stake in Tempus for a 5% stake in Aegis, which is valued at £1.3bn compared with minnow Tempus's £332m.
As consolidation continues in the advertising sector, neither group was expected to remain independent for much longer. And, as is the case, the smaller of the two groups has now been swallowed up.
Sir Martin was understood to have been rebuffed at least once already by Aegis chief executive Doug Flynn.
Tempus chief Ingram was said not to be in favour of such a deal and was looking to find a white knight investor. He appears to have found it.