• Advertising Age, Monday, March 9, 2009 9:45 AM

WPP, the ad giant led by Martin Sorrell, last week moved ahead of Omnicom as the world's largest owner of agencies based on reported revenue. WPP posted $13.6 billion in revenue for 2008, compared to Omnicom's revenue of $13.4 billion, thanks to WPP's inclusion of two months of revenue from TNS, its new $1.9 billion acquisition. But Sorrell had to rack up the largest debt load in his sector to become the biggest player.

WPP ended 2008 with a total debt of $8.2 billion, including debt from the TNS deal. WPP's debt increased last year by $3.4 billion -- more than the total debt load of Omnicom ($3.1 billion). WPP insiders have privately speculated that corporate concerns about debt are preventing agencies from hiring needed talent even when new business comes in.

Sorrell, however, is optimism in the face of economic adversity. If his predictions are correct, the current holding-company landscape is only temporary, and will see a shake-up with the consolidation of WPP's rivals. Havas and Aegis are expected to merge, he says, "and [Interpublic] will get together with somebody at some point in time."

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