Publicis Omnicom seeks approval
US advertising company Omnicom and French peer Publicis have asked EU antitrust regulators to approve their proposed $35.1bn merger to create the world number one agency. Omnicom, the world’s second biggest agency, and Publicis, the third biggest, unveiled the merger in July, saying it would help them compete better with online rivals. The EC said it would decide by 9 January whether to clear the deal, a filing on its website stated yesterday.