Saatchi & Saatchi has agreed to be taken over by French advertising group Publicis in a deal which will see the creation of the world’s fifth largest advertising company. Publicis is to pay £1.24bn for the group in an all-paper deal.
The agreement will see Saatchi & Saatchi owning 30% of the combined group, which will be renamed Publicis Groupe SA and will have billings of £6bn. Bob Seelert, chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, will join the supervisory board of Publicis and Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi, will retain his role and become a board member at Publicis.
Kevin Roberts commented on the deal: “The world has careened towards globalisation and foregone the power of the local idea. The offspring of our union will recognise regional identities and leverage cultural differences.”
The deal will also see the creation of one of the world’s largest media buying operations with the combination of Optimedia, owned by Publicis, and Zenith, which is 50%-owned by Saatchi.
Publicis has been on the lookout for consolidation partners and was recently in the running to buy US group Young & Rubicam (see WPP Confirms Discussions With Y&R), which was eventually bought by WPP to create the world’s biggest ad agency.
Saatchi & Saatchi: 020 7436 4000
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