Havas acquires majority stake in Gauly, strengthening H/Advisors’ communications leadership across Germany, the wider DACH region and Europe

Havas is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in Gauly Advisors (“Gauly”), a leading corporate and financial communications firm based in Germany. The firm will join H/Advisors, Havas’s global strategic communications consultancy. This acquisition strengthens the group’s advisory platform across Germany, the wider DACH region and Europe, combining deep expertise and experience to better serve clients. It also reinforces H/Advisors’ leadership in strategic and financial communications across major international financial centers.  

Established in 2012, Gauly is a trusted advisor to leading international companies, providing strategic and communications counsel to both listed and privately held businesses, from large caps to SMEs. Operating under its new name, H/Advisors Gauly, the firm becomes part of the H/Advisors global organization, which brings together more than 1,500 professionals across 20 countries. 

Gauly’s management will retain a significant equity stake in the company, ensuring continuity and long-term commitment from its leadership team. Equity partners Marcus Brans, Alexander Cordes, Sandra Fabian, Vanessa Haumberger, Helge Hoffmeister, and Andreas Martin will continue to lead the firm and play an integral role within H/Advisors. Gauly’s transition from a trusted partner to a full member of the H/Advisors global network unlocks access to enhanced resources while significantly strengthening H/Advisors’ position in Germany, alongside its existing agency H/Advisors Deekeling Arndt, expanding its capabilities in financial and corporate communications, crisis and issues management, public affairs, corporate performance, and change and transformation.   

Together, H/Advisors Gauly and H/Advisors Deekeling Arndt will provide full geographic coverage of the German market, with offices in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin. In addition, Gauly will work closely with H/Advisors’ partners in Zurich and Vienna to deliver seamless support across the DACH region and further strengthen H/Advisors’ public affairs expertise in Brussels. Collectively, these strengths will further enhance H/Advisors’ global advisory platform, offering clients broader expertise, integrated capabilities, and a stronger strategic proposition across key European markets and beyond.  

Yannick Bolloré, Chief Executive Officer, Havas said: “H/Advisors has become a central pillar of Havas’s global strategy, reflecting our conviction that strategic communication is indispensable to leadership, trust, and performance. I am delighted to welcome the talented team at Gauly to the Havas family. Their addition reinforces our ambition to build a truly global consultancy capable of guiding clients through the most complex reputational and business challenges.” 

Stéphane Fouks, Executive Chairman of H/Advisors and Executive Vice President of Havas, added: “The acquisition of a majority stake in Gauly reflects what defines H/Advisors: collaboration, creativity, and a commitment to making an impact. Together with H/Advisors Deekeling Arndt, Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten, and Pantarhei, it strengthens our leadership across Germany and the DACH region, reinforces our leadership in Europe, and supports our ambition to build a bold, modern, and European-rooted strategic communications consultancy for a changing world.” 

Alexander Cordes, on behalf of the Managing Partners of Gauly, stated: “We are thrilled to be joining H/Advisors. Over the years, we have built a strong partnership founded on shared values, collaborative culture, and high standards. Moving from a trusted partnership to full membership within H/Advisors is a natural next step in Gauly’s journey. It allows us to remain an owner-managed, entrepreneurial, and quality-driven consultancy deeply rooted in the DACH region, while giving our clients and teams access to global reach and world-class expertise through our 1,500 new colleagues across the H/Advisors organisation.”