Omnicom Confirms Mega-Deal to Acquire IPG

Union of giants could rock the industry

It’s being touted as the biggest adland deal of all time, one that could reshape the agency landscape, with creative reverberations felt worldwide.

“Through this combination, we are poised to accelerate innovation and harness the significant opportunities created by new technologies in this era of exponential change,” Omnicom CEO and chairman John Wren says in press materials of the holding company’s move to acquire rival IPG. “Now is the perfect time to bring together our capabilities, talent and geographic footprints to bring clients superior, data-driven outcomes.”

The all-stock transaction will create a marketing and media behemoth with more than 100,000 employees and annual revenue of $25.7 billion. Combined shares would trade under OMC on the N.Y. Stock Exchange.

The acquisition—which values IPG between $13 and $14 billion—is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Wren will remain at the helm, with Omnicom’s Phil Angelastro continuing as CFO. IPG chief executive Philippe Krakowsky and Omnicom COO Daryl Simm become co-presidents.

Omnicom houses five global agency networks, with key holdings such as BBDO, DDB and TBWA. Major clients include Apple, Adidas, McDonald’s, Pfizer and PepsiCo.

IPG’s lead agencies are FCB, McCann and MullenLowe. Among their key accounts: Amex, CVS, Johnson & Johnson and Mattel.

Reactions have been mixed, to say the least. Some applaud the legacy players for seeking to shake up the marketplace, but question their ability to adapt and grow in a fast-changing, AI-driven world. More than a few pundits suggest their business model has already gone the way of the dinosaur.

Omnicom and IPG insist they understand the challenges in terms of staffing, client retention and process integration at a massive scale.

The last combination of this magnitude—Omnicom’s proposed merger with Publicis Groupe—went down in flames a decade ago. Wren vows a better outcome this time around.

“We didn’t venture into this until I had cleared all those cobwebs out making sure we were completely aligned,” he tells Adweek.

Wren’s message for employees feeling uncertain about their immediate future: “Anybody out there who is servicing revenue through either IPG or Omnicom today, your jobs are safer this morning than they were last night.”

That might be true. But major shakeouts surely loom in the months ahead.