Omnicom Group Inc. is in advanced talks to buy Interpublic Group of Cos. in a deal that would create the world’s largest advertising firm, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Read next: Omnicom agrees to acquire IPG
Also: Ad insiders react to proposed Omnicom-IPG merger
An all-stock transaction, which may be announced as soon as this week, would bring together two of the best-known advertising and ad buying companies in an industry shakeup that underscores years of consolidation, the newspaper reported Sunday.
It would likely value Interpublic between $13 billion and $14 billion, excluding debt, the Journal reported. IPG had a market value of almost $10.9 billion as of Friday.
Omnicom was the fourth-largest agency company in Ad Age’s 2024 Agency Report, and IPG was ranked sixth.
Representatives for Omnicom and Interpublic didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Bloomberg outside regular business hours.
—Bloomberg News
