France’s Publicis SA made headlines last week by announcing a $3 billion stock acquisition of Chicago-based Bcom3 that will create the world’s fourth-largest advertising entity.
The deal puts Publicis in the big leagues alongside New York City’s Interpublic Group of Companies and Omnicom Group, and London-based WPP Group. Prior to the merger, Publicis was ranked No. 6 and Bcom3 No. 7 on the list of leading global ad networks.
The combined company will generate revenues in excess of $4 billion and employ 38,000 people worldwide. Assets include Bcom3’s Leo Burnett and Publicis’ Saatchi & Saatchi in advertising and Bcom3’s Starcom MediaVest and Publicis’ Zenith Optimedia for media buying. In the promotion arena, the deal brings Chicago-based Frankel and Clarion Marketing and Communications, Greenwich, CT, under one roof.
Publicis struck an alliance with Japanese ad group Dentsu (which owns 21 percent of privately held Bcom3) that will allow each side to leverage the other’s network–and which gives Dentsu a 15-percent stake in the combined companies. Bcom3 chairman Roger Haut will become Publicis’ chief operating officer when the deal closes.
Bcom3’s client list includes Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola Co., General Motors, and Philip Morris. The Publicis roster includes Toyota, Visa, and Nestle–which suggests some account fallout may be required.
Network
