Grey filed a Securities & Exchange Commission form this week amending the termination date for the agreement and plan for its merger with WPP. The date has been moved back from June 11 2005 to August 11 2005. If the merger has not happened by this date, either party is free to terminate the agreement.
The EC has asked WPP for more information concerning how the merger will affect competition in key markets, and when it has this it will restart its one-month merger review process.
WPP originally agreed the $1.5bn (£801m) deal with Grey in September and it was expected to complete in January.
The delay could deny Grey Global chairman and chief executive Ed Meyer a few million dollars of his expected $86.9m payout as part of the deal. He stands to receive $12.4m in payments relating to golden parachute excise taxes, as long as the merger is completed before the end of this year.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .