Omnicom and Publicis Call Off Marriage Amid Cultural Differences

As egos and regulatory regimes clashed, the deal between advertising giants Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) and Publicis Groupe S.A. (ADR) (OTCMKTS:PUBGY) (EPA:PUB) fell by the wayside.

Omnicom - Publicis: Merger of equals but one firm always rules

The $35 billion merger couldn’t be completed due to “"difficulties in completing the transaction within a reasonable time frame."  In other words, no one was willing to compromise on key control issues and the legal meter was running, might be one interpretation.

Using typical M&A doublespeak, the merger had been labeled a “merger of equals,” which is absurd.  There is...