American advertising and marketing services company, Omnicom Group, is set to gain full ownership of Australia’s Clemenger Group, moving to acquire the remaining 13.16% stake it does not already control.

A shareholder vote is scheduled for June 30 to approve the deal, which would conclude a partnership that began in 1972 when Omnicom’s BBDO Worldwide first invested in Melbourne-founded agency Clemenger. 

The acquisition aligns with Omnicom’s strategy to merge its creative and media operations under a unified Oceania management structure, mirroring similar moves by rivals like WPP and Publicis Groupe.

This follows the recent merger of Clemenger BBDO, CHEP Network, and Traffik into a single full-service agency, now led by Lee Leggett.

Omnicom’s growing presence in the region is backed by a global roster of major tech clients. Last year, Samsung shifted its Australian PR account from Ogilvy PR to Eleven PR, an Omnicom-owned agency and sister company to FleishmanHillard. Other global Omnicom clients include Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

The Australian suggests that Nick Garrett, a former CEO of both Clemenger BBDO and Colenso BBDO, is poised to lead the new regional structure following his departure from Deloitte Digital earlier this year. 

This move comes amid Omnicom’s pending $19.875 billion all-stock acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG), which is under review by regulators in Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is assessing potential impacts on competition in the local advertising and media sectors, with preliminary findings expected by July 24.

The full acquisition of Clemenger would mark the end of an era for the agency, coinciding with the retirement of long-serving chairman Robert Morgan, who steps down after a 46-year tenure on the same day as the shareholder vote.