Reuters reported yesterday (March 19) that a regulatory agency in India has raided the offices of major media companies and agency holding groups as part of a price fixing probe. 

According to the report, based on anonymous sources, The Competition Commission of India launched its raids just before the start of a popular cricket tournament that the news agency described as the “biggest sporting event for advertisers in India.” 

According to the report the companies targeted included GroupM, Interpublic, Publicis and Dentsu and that the CCI’s antitrust officers questioned media executives and seized data from offices.  

India is one of the countries that the Omnicom-IPG M&A deal needs regulatory clearance from in order to complete the transaction, according documents filed by the companies with the SEC. It was not immediately clear what impact if any the probe would have on the approval process.  

Also raided were the offices of a broadcaster trade group known as the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation. The IBDF represents major broadcasters and CTV companies including an entity known as the Reliance-Disney joint venture completed last year and valued at a reported $8.5 billion. 

 The venture combined Disney's Star India with Reliance's Viacom18, creating a media company with over 100 TV channels and two major streaming platforms. Reuters cited an analyst report estimating that the firm controls 40% of the broadcast TV and streaming ad market in India. 

None of the companies targeted responded to requests for comment by the news agency. The CCI did not respond either, nor did Omnicom, which has not been implicated as part of the India probe.  

Pictured above is Ravneet Kaur, chairperson of The Competition Commission of India.