Official: Omnicom Acquires Interpublic Group and Reshapes Advertising Industry

The world’s biggest advertising holding. 

It’s a historic day for the advertising industry: Omnicom has officially acquired Interpublic Group (also known as ‘IPG’), the companies confirmed on Monday 9th of December 2024. The combined entity will retain the ‘Omnicom’ name. The all-stock deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025. 

The merger between Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group (IPG) represents a transformative move in the advertising industry, as the second and fourth-largest holding companies combine forces to create the largest global player, redefining the competitive landscape and setting a new benchmark for innovation and scale.

“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,” John Wren, CEO of Omnicom, said in a statement.

“Together, our new company will have breathtaking talent, reach, capabilities, and geographic presence, as well as a uniquely powerful set of platform services, positioning us for long-term success.” Philippe Krakowsky, CEO of Interpublic Group.

Key Numbers

• The combined entity will have more than 100,000 employees
• In 2023, Omnicom and Interpublic generated $14.5 billion in revenue from the U.S. (57%), $11.1 billion from the rest of the world (43%), resulting in $25.6 billion worldwide.
• The deal is expected to generate $750 million in annual cost synergies.
• Omnicom and IPG said the combined company’s largest industry would be pharmaceuticals and health care, representing 19% of combined revenue.
• Wren said he and Krakowsky started talking about a potential deal roughly a year ago. 

Leadership 

• John Wren will remain Chairman and CEO of Omnicom.
• Phil Angelastro will continue as Omnicom’s Chief Financial Officer.
• IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky and Omnicom Chief Operating Officer Daryl Simm will serve as Co-Presidents and Chief Operating Officers of Omnicom.
• Krakowsky will also be Co-Chair of the integration committee post-merger and sit on Omnicom’s board of directors, along with two other members of IPG’s board.

“The deal creates the world’s largest agency group.”

Omnicom and Publicis: A Cautionary Tale of Mergers

On the investor call announcing the acquisition, John Wren spoke about his previous attempt to merge Omnicom with Publicis, which ultimately fell apart in 2014. Wren said the difference between the two deals was that there is a better cultural fit with IPG.

“The difference this time around is, if you look at Interpublic and Omnicom, you look at the people that make it up, including the leadership, we actually share core values. Since the creation of both groups, I think that there’s quite a number of people who have spent time in the [each] other company over their careers,” Wren said. “Because of this, a lot of ‘cultural unspoken things'” that got in the way of the previous deal wouldn’t affect this deal, he added.

“Having had that experience, and putting myself in the situation where this is going to be tried twice, and both times by me, I took a lot of time and care as did Philippe to make certain that the lessons learned a decade ago are not going to be repeated.”

Also, when Publicis and Omnicom attempted to merge, Omnicom didn’t have a “Plan B” for regulatory scrutiny. “We have prepared for those contingencies, and we’re prepared to do whatever we have to do to get regulatory approval.”

“The combined company will bring together unmatched capabilities, including the industry’s deepest bench of marketing talent, and the broadest and most innovative services and products, underpinned by the most advanced sales and marketing platform.”

Two Groups Excelling in Creative, Media, and PR

Both executives downplayed potential client conflicts stemming from the deal, claiming that brands and marketers aren’t as concerned with such issues anymore.

Let’s closely monitor the progress of this merger as it unfolds through to Summer 2025.

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