Omnicom CEO John Wren and Interpublic Group (IPG) CEO Philippe Krakowsky have been in merger talks for eleven and a half months earlier than the transaction was announced on Monday Dec. 9.

It’s been greater than ten years because the derailed merger between Omnicom with Publicis Groupe and this time, Wren made certain there was settlement between the 2 holdco leaders earlier than closing the deal.

“We didn’t enterprise into this till I had cleared all these cobwebs out ensuring we have been fully aligned,” Wren informed ADWEEK.

Each Wren and Krakowsky mentioned the merger was targeted on combining every holdcos’ main belongings, corresponding to IPG’s knowledge firm Acxiom, Omnicom’s commerce firm Flywheel, two media shopping for models, a slew of iconic advert companies, and extra.

“This was all the time a strategic dialog,” Krakowsky mentioned.

The merged firms shall be referred to as Omnicom, and firm management anticipates it is going to reduce $750 million in prices inside the first two years of closing, primarily by merging back-office capabilities, vendor partnerships, and real-estate.

“I’ve mentioned this repeatedly, and I imply it: anyone on the market who’s servicing income via both IPG or Omnicom immediately, your jobs are safer this morning than they have been final evening,” Wren mentioned.

This dialog has been edited for size and readability.

ADWEEK: John, why do that deal now, and what makes you suppose it’ll work this time?

JOHN WREN: The 2 firms share core frequent values. Many individuals who’ve been at Omnicom or IPG have been a part of one another’s teams. We took time and paced ourselves. We didn’t rush to any conclusion based mostly on the day-to-day challenges or alternatives we have been dealing with in our firms. We have been very considerate in going via this course of.

PHILLIPPE KRAKOWSKY: That is about leaning into all of the methods by which we will help [our clients]. We’d like distinctive instruments round totally different varieties of knowledge, the power to make use of that to make choices, the willingness to place pores and skin within the recreation because it pertains to outcomes.

The place precisely do you see alternatives to streamline the community?

WREN: Up till just lately, the price of entry to compete with any of us was fairly low. Right this moment, you want very refined instruments, platforms, and know-how. We now have belongings that complement one another on that journey. As a substitute of every of us individually resourcing that, we will construct it with the mixed sources of each firms, and constructed correctly, and construct it as soon as.

Our distributors are going to have to barter with a much bigger purchaser now.

Being two company, public firms, we’d like one administration staff. Who you name to search out out whether or not your medical advantages shall be processed—these issues will be centralized. Accounting, billing, will be centralized. However in terms of income technology, that comes all the way down to [providing] the perfect folks with the perfect instruments.