Ad Agency Giants Said to Call Off $35 Billion Merger {http://nyti.ms/1ovdeQr}
Omnicom Group and Publicis have called off their $35 billion merger, bringing a premature end to a deal that would have created the largest advertising company in the world, according to people briefed on the matter.
A mix of clashing personalities, disagreements over how the companies would be integrated and complications over legal and tax issues derailed the deal nine months after it was announced.
The boards of both companies met on Thursday to finalize the decision, which brings to an end an ambitious union between two companies.
Omnicom, based in New York and led by John D. Wren, grew through acquisitions and came to dominate Madison Avenue with a family of agencies including BBDO, TBWA and DDB.
Publicis, based in Paris and led by Maurice Lévy, owns Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Both Mr. Wren and Mr. Lévy are strong willed, and people close to the deal said that their personalities clashed.
At the time the deal was announced, the companies agreed that both men would be co-chief executives to start, and that after 30 months, Mr. Wren, who is 60, would become sole chief executive while Mr. Lévy, 71, would become nonexecutive chairman.
But by February, Mr. Wren was signaling the deal could be in jeopardy
“This transaction is highly complex and is taking longer than we originally expected,” Mr. Wren said while discussing fourth quarter earnings with analysts.
Both companies have spent nearly a year preparing for the merger, leaving teams at both companies distracted, according to people briefed on the matter. The impending deal also created an opening for Omnicom and Publicis rivals. In recent months, WPP, the other big advertising group, has poached several big accounts from both Omnicom and Publicis.
Many of the world’s biggest corporate clients would have also then been served by the same operating company. AT&T, Visa and Pepsi are Omnicom clients, while McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Walmart work with Publicis.