Announced in December, Omnicom’s takeover of IPG would unite the third- and fourth-largest media buying agencies in the U.S. to form an advertising behemoth with $25 billion in annual revenue. The FTC opened a probe into the merger shortly after it was announced; both companies have reiterated their expectation that the transaction will close in the second half of 2025.

The consent decree emerged as a late-stage hurdle, after the FTC began weighing conditions to prevent coordinated ad boycotts, according to Reuters. The move aligns with broader efforts by the Trump administration to counter what it describes as corporate bias against conservative voices—and follows X owner Elon Musk’s claims that advertisers and watchdog groups engaged in a coordinated boycott of his platform. A lawsuit filed by X last year alleges that advertisers and trade groups “conspired” to “withhold billions in advertising revenue,” claiming the pullback harmed the platform’s ability to compete.

With the consent decree in place, the FTC granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. The order now enters a 30-day public comment period before becoming finalized.