As the global ad industry adjusts to there now being five global advertising holding companies instead of six, Green Square’s Barry Dudley asks what the absence of words such as ‘advertising,’ ‘creative,’ and ‘strategy’ might tell us about where Omnicom is heading.
Although there have been all sorts of rumblings and rumors for some time, Omnicom is actually going to acquire IPG – subject to regulatory approval. It is a ‘stock-for-stock’ transaction, meaning that IPG shareholders will sell their shares in exchange for shares in Omnicom. So, despite lots of heady numbers, no cash is changing hands.
As the joint press release states: “Interpublic shareholders will receive 0.344 Omnicom shares for each share of Interpublic common stock they own.” Based on Omnicom’s share price at its last close ($103.43) this equates to $35.58 per share. IPG’s share price at its previous close was $29.26, so there has been a fairly hefty premium offered.
The release went on …