Publicis-Omnicom merger to be over by 2nd quarter of 2014: Maurice Levy

Says his ad agency awaits nod for merger from market regulators in the European Union, Colombia and China

The advertising & marketing world was shocked when six months ago Maurice Levy, Publicis Groupe’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), announced his No 3 group in the sector, would merge with the No 2, Omnicom in a $35.1-billion deal.

But the merger will take time as the two networks cross regulatory hurdles across markets. “We await permission for the merger from market regulators in the European Union, Colombia and China,” said Levy on Thursday. “We could hear from the European Union soon; from the Chinese regulators by mid-January next year and from the Colombian regulators by the end of January,” the 71-year-old Frenchman, the oldest of the top three most powerful CEOs in the ad world (WPP’s Martin Sorrell is 68 and Omnicom’s John Wren 60), said. “By the second quarter of 2014, the merger between the two should happen.”

The two holding companies have already put an integration team in place, which Levy said had organised “70 work  streams” for the two groups to look at synergies. “What Omnicom gets from this merger is our expertise and prowess in digital and e-commerce (businesses). What we get is access to Omnicom’s abilities in customer relationship management. It is a win-win for all,” he said.

Besides reviewing operations of Publicis arms in the country (Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and flagship Publicis India ad agencies; Starcom and Zenith  Optimedia media agencies; and Razorfish and Digitas digital agencies) during his continuing trip to the country, Levy will speak on India’s brand image at a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry event on Saturday.

Like most advertising CEOs, Levy underlines India remains strategic for the group but stops short of saying whether he has achieved his target of being a strong number two in the country (after WPP). “We will continue to look at making acquisitions and growing organically. I am satisfied with some results that we have achieved so far but there are areas in which we can do better.”

He denied his company was talking with Sam Balsara’s Madison Group for acquisition. He also did not say how the Publicis-Omnicom merger would pan out in India. “We are yet to sit down and work out how the merger would unfurl in different markets.”

Paris-headquartered Publicis derives a quarter of its revenues from emerging markets. The game plan, Levy says, is to take this number to 35 per cent in four years. India is expected to be in the forefront, as the group’s turnover is expected to double by the end of next year in the country. “In some markets we have grown faster than the others. Brazil and China, for instance, are markets where we have doubled the size of our operation in the last few years. But our commitment remains towards India. We have made and will continue to make substantial investments in India, some of which you will hear of in the next few months,” he said.