The FTC has approved a revised final consent order tied to Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG), explicitly preventing the company from denying ad dollars to publishers based on political or ideological viewpoints—unless a client expressly directs it.
In June, the FTC conditionally cleared the deal with a proposed consent decree barring politically motivated ad boycotts. That order is now final, with added oversight and a clarification of scope.
After a mandatory public comment period, the FTC revised the order to add a compliance monitor and ensure that the restrictions only apply within the United States. The commission voted 2-0-1 to approve the order, with Commissioner Mark R. Meador recused.
The FTC said advertising holding companies, including through industry trade groups, have at times coordinated boycotts of certain media sites, cutting off their ad revenue and weakening their ability to produce content.
The order bars Omnicom from keeping exclusion lists or ideology-based blocklists unless a particular advertiser asks for one—putting the decision back in the hands of its clients.
The merger also cleared a key U.K. review last month, when the Competition and Markets Authority declined to escalate the deal to a phase-two probe. The European Union remains among the regulators still reviewing the transaction.
Omnicom and IPG had already been under scrutiny by the FTC, which issued a second information request earlier in the year, signaling deeper antitrust review.
IPG’s Q2 revenue fell year over year, but its margin hit a record high as it cut costs in anticipation of the merger. Omnicom continues to expect the deal to close in the second half of 2025.
The decision shows regulators are paying closer attention to how advertising holding companies use their market power in ways that could impact the flow of advertising dollars online.
