Breaking News: EU gives unconditional approval to Omnicom-IPG merger

New Delhi: The European Commission has given unconditional clearance to Omnicom Group Inc.’s acquisition of Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG), removing the final major regulatory hurdle for the creation of the world’s largest advertising holding company.

Approving the transaction under the EU Merger Regulation, the Commission concluded that the deal would not raise competition concerns in any of the examined markets within the European Economic Area (EEA).

Omnicom had earlier told investors on its Q3 2025 earnings call that the acquisition of IPG could close within 48 hours of EU clearance, sealing a $13.5-billion all-stock deal that will create the world’s largest advertising network.

Both Omnicom and IPG are active across Europe in advertising, marketing and communication services, including marketing communication services (MCS) and media buying services (MBS). MCS covers the creative and strategic side of campaigns, while MBS relates to planning and purchasing ad inventory on behalf of clients.

Following a Phase I investigation across multiple EEA countries, the Commission found that the merged entity would hold only moderate positions in national markets for both MCS and MBS.

It noted that the combined group would continue to face strong competition from other global holding companies, including WPP, Publicis, Dentsu and Havas, as well as a range of other networks and independent agencies.

According to the Commission, advertisers would retain the ability to switch agencies if the merged group attempted to increase prices or reduce quality, helped by three structural features of the market:

• Business is often awarded through competitive pitches


• Contracts are typically of relatively short duration


• Switching costs are generally limited



Because of this, the regulator concluded that clients would not be locked in and that competitive pressure would remain robust.

The Commission also examined whether the enlarged Omnicom IPG group could use its media buying scale to exert undue pressure on media owners or distort negotiations for TV, print, digital and other inventory.

It concluded that media groups across key European markets would retain sufficient countervailing power, given the level of concentration on the media owner side. As a result, the merged entity would not be able to significantly worsen conditions for media owners or foreclose rivals by leveraging its MBS position.

On balance, the Commission found the transaction “unlikely to raise competition concerns” in any of the markets it assessed and cleared the deal without conditions.

The deal was formally notified to the Commission on 20 October 2025. The approval has come within the standard 25 working day timeline for a Phase I review.

With the EU’s unconditional clearance now in place, Omnicom and IPG have effectively secured sign-offs from all key regulators, clearing the way for the merger to close and for detailed integration plans to move into execution across global and local markets.