Publicis, Omnicom say major clients welcome merger

PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executives of Publicis and Omnicom said they had spoken to major clients about their planned merger and did not anticipate major problems with big advertisers defecting to rivals in the transition period.

Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said the reaction to the merger from all the company's major clients had been "extremely positive".

Competing sector executives and analysts expect that the Publicis Omnicom merger could spur some big customers to switch agencies to avoid conflicts.

Holding companies such as Omnicom and Publicis own networks of agencies and PR firms within the larger group. They're designed to work independently so that competing clients - Pepsi and Coca-Cola for example - are placed in separate networks to avoid conflict.

"We're going to work extremely hard to resolve any client conflict issues with creative solutions," said John Wren, the Omnicom CEO.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Leila Abboud)

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Reports: Ad giants Omnicom, Publicis in talks

NEW YORK (AP) — Omnicom and Publicis are close to striking a deal that would combine the two advertising giants into the world's largest advertising firm, according to media reports.

Such a merger would create a firm with a market value of more than $30 billion, surpassing London-based industry leader WPP PLC. A combined firm would allow for more pricing power, though the decrease in competition could present regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and Europe. Client conflicts also could be an issue.

Omnicom Group Inc., based in New York, owns BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide Communications Group and TBWA Worldwide, among other agencies. Paris-based Publicis Groupe SA runs its namesake agency as well as Leo Burnett Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and DigitasLBi.

An announcement is expected Sunday at Publicis' headquarters.

Spokespeople for Omnicom and Publicis couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Saturday. Bloomberg News first reported the talks aftermarket on Friday, citing an unnamed person familiar with the deal.

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Publicis, Omnicom say major clients welcome merger

PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executives of Publicis and Omnicom said they had spoken to major clients about their planned merger and did not anticipate major problems with big advertisers defecting to rivals in the transition period.

Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said the reaction to the merger from all the company's major clients had been "extremely positive".

Competing sector executives and analysts expect that the Publicis Omnicom merger could spur some big customers to switch agencies to avoid conflicts.

Holding companies such as Omnicom and Publicis own networks of agencies and PR firms within the larger group. They're designed to work independently so that competing clients - Pepsi and Coca-Cola for example - are placed in separate networks to avoid conflict.

"We're going to work extremely hard to resolve any client conflict issues with creative solutions," said John Wren, the Omnicom CEO.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Leila Abboud)

View the original article here

Reports: Ad giants Omnicom, Publicis in talks

NEW YORK (AP) — Omnicom and Publicis are close to striking a deal that would combine the two advertising giants into the world's largest advertising firm, according to media reports.

Such a merger would create a firm with a market value of more than $30 billion, surpassing London-based industry leader WPP PLC. A combined firm would allow for more pricing power, though the decrease in competition could present regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and Europe. Client conflicts also could be an issue.

Omnicom Group Inc., based in New York, owns BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide Communications Group and TBWA Worldwide, among other agencies. Paris-based Publicis Groupe SA runs its namesake agency as well as Leo Burnett Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and DigitasLBi.

An announcement is expected Sunday at Publicis' headquarters.

Spokespeople for Omnicom and Publicis couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Saturday. Bloomberg News first reported the talks aftermarket on Friday, citing an unnamed person familiar with the deal.

View the original article here