UPDATE 2-Havas sales to drop but targets steady 2009 pft

* 2009 sales seen falling no more than 10 pct

* Should maintain earnings through cost controls

* Seeking acquisitions in global crisis

* Bollore "very happy" with Havas, Aegis investments

(Adds Bollore comments to Reuters, details, shares)

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) - World number six advertising group Havas (EURC.PA) expects sales to fall by a tenth this year but aims to maintain earnings through tight cost controls.

Chairman Vincent Bollore told the group's annual meeting on Wednesday that Havas would seek acquisition opportunities but had no immediate plans for the UK's Aegis Group (AEGS.L), in which the French financier holds 29.9 percent.

A fall in sales of upto a tenth were likely to hit earnings, but Havas "should be able to retain a large part of its result in 2009", helped by tight control over variable costs, Bollore told shareholders.

"We are suffering more or less like the sector's average. I do not feel that we suffer more than others or that we will suffer more," he said.

Havas, whose clients range from France Telecom (FTE.PA) to Coca-Cola (KO.N), posted an 8.4 percent drop in first-quarter organic sales last month amid a recession-fuelled downturn in ad and marketing spend. [ID:nLF705282].

April showed "a similar trend", with sales down by around 8-10 percent, Bollore said.

Bollore is the largest shareholder of Havas, with a 32.9 percent stake. He is also the largest shareholder of media buying agency Aegis with 29.9 percent.

The situation has fuelled speculation Bollore could seek to merge the two groups to help them better compete with larger rivals such as France's Publicis (PUBP.PA) or Britain's WPP (WPP.L), the world's largest ad group by revenue.

Havas has a market capitalisation of 820 million euros ($1.2 billion) while Aegis' value is 962 million pounds ($1.6 billion).

NO REGRETS

Asked about Aegis, Bollore said there were "no immediate plans for a deal" but added "all options remained possible".

Bollore said the financial crisis would throw up acquisition opportunities and said Havas would look at taking part in the sector's consolidation.

"What interests us is taking part in the new make-up of the sector," he said.

Aegis posted an 11.6 percent fall in first-quarter revenue due to client losses and tough comparatives.

Asked if he had any regrets regarding his investments in both Aegis and Havas, Bollore told Reuters: "Not at all.

"The shares of these two companies did not fall as much as other stocks. I am very confident for the future. I am very happy with Havas and Aegis...It does not bother me that some people think that Aegis and Havas are too small in the sector."

Aegis has long been a potential target or a break-up candidate. In January, British newspapers reported that Aegis Chairman John Napier was lining up advisers to carry out a strategic review of its business.

In March, Aegis said it had not held talks on a possible merger with Havas. Bollore has often described the relationship between the two companies as a "long love affair".

By 1207 GMT, Havas shares were up 0.5 percent at 1.91 euros while Aegis shares gained 0.6 percent at 83.5 pence. ($1=.6999 Euro) ($1=.6022 Pound) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by David Holmes and David Cowell)