The advertising titans, behind campaigns like ‘Got Milk’ and ‘Priceless’, aim to create the world’s largest ad agency.
Published On 9 Dec 2024
Omnicom is buying Interpublic Group in a stock-for-stock deal that will create the largest ad agency in the world with combined annual revenue of almost $26bn.
The deal, announced on Monday, could attract regulatory scrutiny as it seeks to merge the world’s third-largest ad buyer, Omnicom, with the fourth-largest – Interpublic.
The names may be unfamiliar to many Americans, but some of their marketing campaigns are iconic. Those include “Got Milk” for the California Milk Processor Board, “Priceless” for Mastercard, “Because I’m Worth It” for L’Oreal and “Think Different” for Apple.
The combined company will be worth more than $30bn.
“Through this combination, we are poised to accelerate innovation and harness the significant opportunities created by new technologies in this era of exponential change, said John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom. “Now is the perfect time to bring together our technologies, capabilities, talent and geographic footprints to bring clients superior, data-driven outcomes.”
The company will keep the Omnicom name and trade under the “OMC” ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tech giants such as Alphabet-owned Google and Amazon.com have in recent years attracted marketing dollars away from traditional agencies by offering both advertising tools and marketplaces to buy and sell them.
Soaring use of AI tools that allow businesses to