LONDON (Brand Republic) – The long-awaited merger between Publicis’s media arm, Optimedia, and Zenith Media is set for February 5, according to a report in French newspaper Le Figaro.
The merger has been delayed because the joint owners of Zenith -- Publicis and the UK’s Cordiant Communications -- could not agree over what percentage Cordiant would hold in the merged media group.
It is understood that Publicis will take a large majority of the new entity, according to the report.
Publicis took control of its half of Zenith when it acquired Saatchi & Saatchi for $2bn in June last year. The merger will create the world’s fourth-largest media buying firm.
Publicis and French rival Havas Advertising have come under mounting pressure to strengthen their media buying arms as they battle to increase their overall worldwide rankings through aggressive acquisitions. They are ranked fifth and fourth respectively.
Havas announced it was buying out minority shareholders in its media arm Media Planning on Monday.
Publicis’s Optimedia and Zenith will have joint annual billings of $16bn (£10.8bn) compared with Media Planning’s $8.45bn (£5.7bn).