Omnicom-Publicis merger: What will WPP do now?

With the ad world upended, speculation on response of the dethroned No 1

The advertising world can throw up strange possibilities. Just when most had thought that Martin Sorrell’s WPP would remain unchallenged as the world’s numero uno advertising & marketing communications group, came the big surprise — foes Maurice Levy, chief executive, Publicis Groupe and his counterpart, John Wren of Omnicom, were joining hands.

Simply put, the second (Omnicom) and third-ranked (Publicis) advertising and marketing networks were coming together. As the chief executive of a Top Ten ad agency in India said, “In one fell swoop, Maurice and John have overtaken Martin. Who could have thought something like this could happen?”

Yet, it has. Predictably, agencies which are part of the Publicis and Omnicom groups are elated. Arvind Sharma, chairman, India sub-continent, Leo Burnett, part of Publicis Groupe, says: “We are happy to be part of the largest communications combine in the world. It’s a moment to celebrate.”

Madhukar Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer, DDB Mudra Group, and Josy Paul, chairman & chief creative officer, BBDO India, were not available for comment. Pratap Bose, chief operating officer, DDB Mudra, said it was too early to comment about the merger. (WHERE THE HOLDING COMPANIES STAND......)

However, as the global pecking order of ad & marketing networks had changed, what would WPP, specifically its maverick promoter, Sorrell, 68, do?

Not known to tolerate anything but the best, Sorrell is expected to mount an offer for the Interpublic Group (IPG). IPG, holding company for agency brands such as McCann Worldgroup,  Lowe & Partners, DraftFCB, has been a takeover target for some time now. And, following Publicis and Omnicom's merger, speculation that WPP will go after IPG has gained momentum.

More so because all along it was speculated that Levy's Publicis would buy IPG. A year and a half earlier, this speculation almost reached a crescendo that Publicis was indeed close to acquiring IPG globally. When questioned about this in December 2011, Publicis’ chief operating officer Jean-Yves Naouri, number two after Levy, who was visiting India then, had said: “There is no truth to it.” With Publicis now joining hands with Omnicom, persons in the know say, the field is wide open as far as IPG is concerned. The question is, will the latter blink?

Another theory doing the rounds is of Sorrell possibly looking at the Paris-headquartered Havas Group as a takeover target before training his guns on IPG. Ranked number sixth in the pecking order of global networks, Havas has also been on the hit list of the big three groups for long. With 37 per cent of Havas’ equity controlled by French businessman and corporate raider Vincent Bollore, also its chairman, speculation has been rife that the latter has been looking to cash out at the opportune time. The Frenchman did just that last year, when he sold media group Aegis, part of the Havas network, to Japanese major Dentsu.

So, WPP might not have it easy, with IPG refusing to blink easily and Dentsu as a potential bidder for Havas’ remaining assets, its advertising agencies. The next six months are likely to be crucial, then, for WPP because it could decide which way the once infallible group could head.