Its shares, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, fell by almost 5% yesterday to $11.92, a decline of 59 cents, on the news. One analyst from Deutsche Bank told investors that the GM media account represented up to 1.3% of Interpublic's revenue, although others have put the figure as high as 8.3% for 2003.
The news of the GM review came only days after Interpublic revealed it would not be filing its annual results for 2004 on time, and that it had uncovered $145m in overstated revenues, relating to acquisitions made between 1996 and 2001.
Interpublic holds the GM account through General Motors Mediaworks, its dedicated buying agency for the car manufacturer, and has been invited to defend the account.
Starcom MediaVest, owned by Publicis Groupe, will pitch against Interpublic for the account, with an outcome expected in around two months. Its General Motors Planworks division currently provides the media planning for GM and it has made in-roads into Interpublic's GM account by winning outdoor business.
Interpublic agencies came out on top in GM's review of its £400m European media planning and account late last year. Initiative retained the £97m UK account while Universal McCann absorbed the continental business. The German component had previously been with Carat.
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