Omnicom-Publicis Groupe Merge To Be Biggest Ad Firm

Advertising conglomerates Publicis Groupe and Omincom have announced a merger, becoming the world’s biggest advertising company with a market capitalisation worth $35.1 billion.

Omnicom CEO John Wren and Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Lévy will jointly head the newly merged Publicis Omnicom Group. The new company is the world’s largest provider of communications, advertising, marketing and digital services with a combined 2012 revenue of $22.7 billion.

The merged group employs 130,000 employees across their various agencies including BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, Leo Burnett and StarcomMediaVest.

Both the Publicis Groupe and Omincom shareholders will approximately hold 50 per cent of the new company’s equity. The merger is expected to create increased value for shareholders, as the company’s broader portfolio is predicted to accelerate growth. The company is expected to save $500 million in future due to the combination of its services.

“The communication and marketing landscape has undergone dramatic changes in recent years, including the exponential development of new media giants, the explosion of big bata, blurring of the roles of all players and profound changes in consumer behavior,” said Maurice Lévy, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe.

“This evolution has created both great challenges and tremendous opportunities for clients. John and I have conceived this merger to benefit our clients by bringing together the most comprehensive offering of analog and digital services.”

The merger is expected to increase the joint company’s client portfolio with the addition of new integrated service capabilities across the world. The current clientele of the newly merged company includes heavyweight global bluechips like Apple, PepsiCo, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Unilever.

“This combination will enable us to leverage the skills of our exceptionally talented people, our broad product offering, enhanced global footprint, and tremendous roster of global and local clients. In short, we believe this is a merger that will set our new company on a path to accelerated growth, with long-term benefits for clients, employees and shareholders,” said Levy.

The merged company will be listed in both New York and Paris.