Publicis-Omnicom Banks to Miss Millions as Deal Collapses

The banks working on the largest advertising merger in history will probably miss out on the bulk of $70 million in fees after Publicis Groupe SA and Omnicom Group Ltd. terminated talks on a combination.

Bankers from Rothschild, working with Publicis, and Moelis & Co., which advised Omnicom, led a small army of advisers on the deal that also included Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. Instead of as much as $70 million the firms would have shared for a successful deal, the banks are likely to receive $2 million to $4 million each in retainer fees, according to research firm Freeman & Co.