ADWEEK House is headed to Las Vegas on January 8! Our house is your house to unwind, recharge and network during the industry’s largest consumer tech moment. RSVP.
After less than 24 hours of rumors, reports, and speculation, Omnicom has confirmed its acquisition of Interpublic Group.
Expected to close in the second half of 2025, the deal has the potential to upend the ad industry by creating a holding company behemoth that could take on the dominance of WPP and Publicis Groupe.
First, it must pass shareholder and regulatory approval. Roadblocks with the latter forced Omnicom and Publicis to call off their $35 billion merger back in 2013.
John Wren will remain as chairman and CEO of Omnicom, according to a press release. While IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky and COO Daryl Simm will serve as co-presidents and COOs of Omnicom.
In the meantime, in a memo to IPG’s 55,000-plus staff, shared with ADWEEK, Krakowsky gave more insight into the levers driving the deal, saying that the companies want to build the industry’s “premier marketing and tech-enabled sales organization.”
He also addressed staff concerns: “I know each of you will have questions about your role as we become a part of the Omnicom organization next year,” he said. “Know that our focus will be to care for our people.”
Read Krakowsky’s memo to staff below.
All,
Today is a historic day for a company that’s shaped our industry since its inception.
In 1961, Interpublic became the first holding company, creating a house of agency brands that could serve the advertising needs of clients globally. In the decades that followed, we led the way in bringing new marketing disciplines into the fold and delivering integrated marketing for our clients. More recently, our acquisition of Acxiom saw us advance the state of the art when it came to incorporating data, technology and precision into the solutions we provide for forward-thinking marketers. And, throughout, we’ve valued the power of ideas, craftsmanship and creativity in differentiating brands and building businesses.
As we all know, we are living in an era of ever-increasing, exponential change in the consumer, technology and marketing landscapes. We’ve always prided ourselves on being at the forefront of this evolution, which is why today, we’re taking another bold step forward.
Moments ago, we issued a press release announcing that Interpublic has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Omnicom, creating the industry’s premier marketing and tech-enabled sales organization.
With this strategic combination, our companies will establish a new benchmark for what’s possible in our industry. Our strength and depth in all areas of ideation, media, precision marketing, data, commerce, healthcare, sports and experiential marketing, public relations, design, and many other disciplines and channels will be exceptional. By joining forces, we can also accelerate innovation, since we can focus and amplify our investment in increasingly important platform services, informed by technology and AI.