The number one US advertising company Omnicom says it is unable to predict when its $35.1 billion merger with France’s Publicis Groupe will close, as the deal has yet to win some key approvals. Omnicom’s shares fell as much as 3.6 per cent in early trade yesterday. “At this point it’s not practical to predict exactly when the transaction will close,” chief executive John Wren said after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue yesterday.
Omnicom, which in October expected the merger to close in early 2014, said in February the deal was likely to close “a little bit into the third quarter”. It also said it was yet to receive approval from anti-trust authorities in China and for establishing tax residency in the United Kingdom.
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For the Omnicom Q1 14 results press release click Omnicom
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