Omnicom to acquire Interpublic

Under the terms of the deal, Interpublic shareholders will receive 0.344 Omnicom shares for each share of Interpublic common stock they own.

Following the close of the transaction, Omnicom shareholders will own 60.6% of the combined company and Interpublic shareholders will own 39.4%, on a fully diluted basis.

Omnicom and IPG expect the transaction to generate ‘annual cost synergies’ of $750m.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday ( 9^th December) that Omnicom Group was in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire IPG in an all-stock deal.

The agreement will merge two of the Big Six – the world’s largest advertising groups – to create the biggest advertising company, and so the merger is expected to attract scrutiny from regulators.

Omnicom is the owner of networks Omnicom Media Group (OMG), Flywheel and the DAS Group of Companies. Businesses include advertising group DDB, data and analytics division Annalect, branding agency Interbrand and media agency Hearts and Science.

Interpublic’s agencies include media network UM, advertising agencies FCB and McCann and media and marketing services arm IPG Mediabrands. The company announced in the last few days that it had acquired e-commerce insight platform Intelligence Node.

Both are headquartered in New York. Omnicom employs around 75,000 people globally, while IPG has a headcount of 55,000.

Omnicom expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2025, subject to Omnicom and Interpublic shareholder approvals, required regulatory approvals, and other customary conditions.

The combined company will retain the Omnicom name and following the transaction will offer end-to-end services across media, precision marketing, CRM, data, digital commerce, advertising, healthcare, public relations and branding.

John Wren will remain chairman and chief executive of Omnicom following the deal, while Phil Angelastro will remain executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

Philippe Krakowsky, chief executive at IPG, and Daryl Simm, president and chief operating officer at Omnicom, will become co-presidents and chief operating officers at Omnicom. Krakowsky will also co-chair the integration committee post-merger.

Three current members of the Interpublic board of directors, including Krakowsky, will join the Omnicom board.

John Wren, chairman and chief executive, Omnicom, said: “This strategic acquisition creates significant value for both sets of shareholders by combining world-class, highly complementary data and technology platforms enabling new offerings to better serve our clients and drive growth.

“Through this combination, we are poised to accelerate innovation and harness the significant opportunities created by new technologies in this era of exponential change. Now is the perfect time to bring together our technologies, capabilities, talent and geographic footprints to bring clients superior, data-driven outcomes. We are excited to welcome Philippe and the entire Interpublic team to the Omnicom family.”

Philippe Krakowsky, chief executive, Interpublic, said: “This combination represents a tremendous strategic opportunity for our stakeholders, amplifying our investments in platform capabilities and talent as part of a more expansive network.

“Our two companies have highly complementary offerings, geographic presence and cultures. We also share a foundational belief in the power of ideas, enabled by technology and data. By joining Omnicom, we are creating a uniquely comprehensive portfolio of services that will make us the most powerful marketing and sales partner in a world that’s changing at speed. We look forward to working with John and the entire Omnicom team.”

In 2013, Omnicom and Publicis announced they would merge, but called off the plans the following year.

WPP is currently the world’s biggest advertising group by revenue, but could be overtaken by Publicis Groupe by the end of this year, according to estimates. Omnicom and IPG are third- and fourth-largest respectively, followed by Dentsu and Havas.

An earlier version of this story has been updated to reflect the confirmation of the acquisition.