Publicis’ much-advertised ambition to be the world’s biggest ad holding company by the end of 2024 could be rudely upended by seemingly advanced merger talks between US rivals Omnicom and Interpublic. The two are reported to be well advanced on a merger that would create a $30bn mega-group, with Omnicom in the driving seat.
As ever with these deals there’ll be regulatory hurdles to overcome which could create space for other bids, not least from Publicis itself. The French company wouldn’t want the prize of world’s biggest snatched away again – it tried to merge with Omnicom in 2013 to top Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP. IPG is currently valued at $12bn, which Publicis could easily afford. Publicis is currently valued at nearly $30bn.
IPG, once Interpublic, the world’s first big ad holding company, has ebbed recently and, in hindsight, it looks as though CEO Philippe Krakowsky has been clearing the decks for a bid – selling his digital agencies and retrenching elsewhere.
The mooted deal will also increase the focus on Britain’s WPP, the world’s biggest by revenue in 2023 but currently valued at a bargain-basement $11bn. Blackrock, the world’s biggest PE company, currently controls 9.92 of WPP shares and will be sniffing a deal.
