Omnicom in Advanced Talks to Acquire IPG

Omnicom is in advanced talks to acquire IPG in a deal that would create advertising's largest holding company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. 

Omnicom is currently the world's third biggest holding company and owns iconic brands, such as BBDO, DDB and TBWA, as well as other entities like PHD and OMD. It is valued at approximately $10.9 billion. Both are based in the United States.

IPG, meanwhile, owns McCann, FCB and MullenLowe, as well as the likes of Weber Shandwick and Mediabrands. Its value is somewhere around $20.2 billion. It recently sold digital agency Huge to private equity firm AEA Investors, while R/GA is also on the market. It additionally sold Hill Holliday and Deutsch New York to Attivo Group back in January. That said, it also announced the $100 million acquisition of Intelligence Node, a Mumbai commerce analytics business, on the same day as its sale of Huge.

An agreement for the merger, according to the Wall Street Journal, could be announced as early as this week. The precise structure and terms of the deal are not yet known.

According to Reuters, the combined revenues of Omnicom and IPG would be more than $20 billion, based on 2023 figures. That would challenge the UK's WPP and France's Publicis Groupe, which generate revenue of $15 billion and $13 billion, respectively.

In 2013, Omincom and Publicis rocked the advertising industry with its own intentions to merge under a $35 billion deal. It was eventually called off due to administrative roadblocks and an internal power struggle.