After soliciting comments last month from “interested parties,” the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority today launched an official investigation into whether the proposed Omnicom-IPG combination would stifle industry competition in the country.  

During the first phase of the formal probe, the CMA will solicit information from Omnicom, IPG and potentially other undisclosed parties in order to determine if there is a “realistic prospect” that the merger will result in a “substantial lessening of competition” in the UK market.  

The CMA said that it would decide by August 13 whether to proceed with a Phase 2 of the probe or clear the merger.  A third option would be to negotiate with the parties and elicit commitments or actions to address CMA concerns, not unlike a consent decree in the U.S. 

In the U.S., where the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the merger, The New York Times reported last week that the commission has proposed a ban on boycotting ad platforms because of their political content as a condition to approving the deal.     

The CMA didn’t explain whether comments it received (if any) triggered its decision to move forward with a formal probe, only that the deal “meets the requirements” for a formal investigation.  

Omnicom and IPG have not commented on active regulatory investigations into the proposed deal. On its first quarter earnings call, Omnicom reported that it had received regulatory clearance from six of the 18 jurisdictions the companies need clearance from, including China, Colombia, Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.   

The firm also indicated at that time it still expected to compete the acquisition in the second half of 2025.