It started as a joke.

    Publicis (PUBGY) CEO Maurice Levy and Omnicom (OMC) chief John Wren, veteran leaders of two of the world's largest ad holding companies, had known each other for years, but this was the first time that Wren visited Levy at his Paris office. It was January, and the two titans of the ad business were chatting on Publicis's rooftop terrace, overlooking the Arc de Triomphe, when Wren said: "This is priceless."

    "Not so much," Levy replied. "It can be yours."

    "It was just a joke," Levy recalled in an interview with Fortune. "I had nothing in mind."

    "We laughed a little," Wren says, "but it was not forgotten."

    Over the next six months -- beginning with a February 4 meeting in Paris, followed by a meeting in New York last March -- the CEOs visited one another nearly every other weekend, meeting privately and secretly in hotels in both cities. Last month, during "a secret rendezvous," as Wren calls it, at the Carlton Hotel amidst the Cannes Lions international advertising festival on the French Riviera, he and Levy carved out the terms of the biggest merger in ad history. To keep the deal under the radar, Levy skipped the elevator and took the stairs to get to Wren's 6th floor hotel suite. "He got his exercise," jokes Wren.

    So, it was fitting that these two bosses were back on the roof of Publicis's Paris headquarters on Sunday when they announced their deal to form Publicis Omnicom. The merger proposes to unite Publicis, which owns Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett as well as Internet-marketing agency Digitas, with Omnicom, which houses ad giants BBDO, DDB, and TBWA. The potential benefits of the combination are massive: an enlarged global footprint, greater leverage with media companies that place ads for their clients, more clout in dealing with Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB), which are both customers and competitors of the ad companies. With the potential benefits, though, comes one sure thing about this so-called "marriage of equals": It is going to be a very complicated marriage.

    The merger is complicated, first of all, for clients, the lifeblood of the two partners. Among the client conflicts in the proposed deal: PepsiCo (PEP) has been one of Omnicom's flagship clients for decades; Publicis serves Coke (KO). No way will the beverage giants allow their brands to live under one roof -- particularly this roof of never-seen-before proportions. Other conflicts for Publicis Omnicom to sort out: Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF), Verizon (VZN) and AT&T (T), and several brands in the lucrative auto category.

    Beyond that, global clients such as Procter & Gamble (PG) and McDonald's (MCD) that work with both Omnicom and Publicis will face the potential downside of doing business with an even bigger conglomerate. Former P&G CMO Jim Stengel points out that agencies within holding companies tend to be very competitive with each other, partly because reward systems aren't set up for collaboration. "I often found that agencies from different holding companies collaborated better," says Stengel, now a consultant with his own firm. "The promise of putting together integrated teams from holding companies to better serve clients is way more the exception than the rule. But when it works, it's magical." Examples of successful collaborations include Publicis's work for P&G's Crest and Oral B brands and WPP Group's (WPPGY) Team Ford (F).

    一开始，合并只是笑谈而已 。

    阳狮集团（Publicis）首席执行官莫里斯•莱维和宏盟集团（Omnicom）首席执行官约翰•沃伦均是世界上最大广告控股公司的资深高管，也是多年的相识。然而，这是莫里斯第一次到访莱维的巴黎办公室。当时正值1月，两位广告业巨子在俯瞰巴黎凯旋门的阳狮公司屋顶露台聊了起来。沃伦说：“它是无价之宝。”

    “并没有那么多”，莱维回答。“你可以拥有它。”

    “那只是一个玩笑罢了”，莱维在接受财《富杂》志访问时回顾说。“我的头脑中一片空白。”

    “我们都笑了”，沃伦说。“但我们却都记住了这个动议。”

    接下来的6个月时间里——从2月4日在巴黎的会面开始，然后是去年3月在纽约的会面——两位高管几乎每隔一周都会相互拜访，私下秘密地在巴黎或纽约的酒店见面。据沃伦说，上个月戛纳国际广告节（Cannes Lions international advertising festival）期间，双方在法国里维埃拉卡尔顿酒店《the Carlton Hotel》于“一次秘密的会面中”策划了广告行业史上最大的合并交易。为了保持会面的隐蔽性，莱维上酒店6楼沃伦的套房时并没有坐电梯，而是爬楼梯。沃伦开玩笑说：“他总是锻炼。”

    因此，当这两位高管在周日宣布成立阳狮宏盟的交易时，他们自然而然地将地点选在了阳狮总部屋顶的露台。这项合并涉及阳狮和宏盟，前者旗下拥有Saatchi & Saatchi、Leo Burnett和互联网营销机构Digitas，而后者则拥有广告巨头天联广告（BBDO）、DDB和腾迈广告（TBWA）。联姻的潜在利益是巨大的，包括：更广泛的全球影响力、在与播放客户广告的媒体公司打交道时更大的话语权，在与谷歌(Google)和Facebook交涉时拥有更大的影响力，而这两家公司是既是广告公司的客户也是竞争对手。虽然这一桩所谓的“强强联姻”存在诸多好处，但有一点是必然的：这将是一场非常复杂的婚姻。

    首先，对两家公司的命脉——客户——来说，合并是复杂的。这项提议的交易存在很多客户冲突，其中包括：百事(PepsiCo) 几十年来一直是宏盟的旗舰客户之一，而可口可乐是(Coke)阳狮的客户。这两家软饮行业巨头不可能选用同一家广告代理商，尤其是一个家业如此之大的公司。阳狮宏盟还需解决的其他冲突包括：苹果(Apple)和三星(Samsung)，威瑞森 (Verizon) and 美国电话电报公司（AT&T）以及十分赚钱的汽车行业的多个品牌。

    此外，与双方都有合作的国际大型公司，例如宝洁(Procter & Gamble)和麦当劳(McDonald's)，将面临与超大型广告公司合作的潜在不利因素。宝洁前首席市场营销官吉姆•斯腾格尔指出，控股公司内部各大代理商之间的竞争会变得非常激烈，部分原因在于控股公司没有针对合作的奖励机制。现任自营公司顾问的斯腾格尔说：“我经常发现，不同控股公司的代理商合作得更好。公司会承诺，整合不同公司的团队可以更好地为客户服务，但真正实现这一目标的是少之又少。然而，一旦实现，效果将是惊人的。”成功的合作案例包括阳狮为宝洁佳洁士和欧乐-B品牌所做的广告，以及WPP Group的Team Ford广告。

    Levy and Wren intend to be co-CEOs of the new company for 30 months, in part "to make clients comfortable" with the new set-up, Levy explains. Even so, the set-up is inherently risky. "Co-CEOs is not an easy structure," notes WPP chief Martin Sorrell, who runs the world's largest ad holding company, at least until Publicis Omnicom passes regulatory muster. (Approvals are needed in 41 countries, Wren says.) Indeed, corporate history is packed with failed co-CEOs; outsized egos typically destroy relationships and damage companies, particularly big global ones. Remember Sandy Weill and John Reed at Citigroup (C)?

    The plan is for Levy to continue operating from Paris, while Wren remains in New York. Levy says they possess "exactly the same attitudes" toward serving clients, but skeptics are concerned about the balance of power. The 71-year-old Levy, who intends to hand the CEO reins to Wren, 61, after 30 months, has performed much better for investors than Wren. Benefiting from digital acquisitions and investments in emerging markets, Publicis stock has more than tripled during the past five years. Omnicom is up about 70% in the same period. While Omnicom delivered 30% annual returns in the 1990s, its slowdown suggests that Wren's strategy "wasn't working," says Sorrell.

    The WPP chief calls the Publicis-Omnicom merger "an extremely bold, brave, and surprising move," and he is now salivating on the sidelines. Sorrell will likely pick up a few clients dissatisfied by the Publicis-Omnicom merger. Meanwhile, some industry watchers contend that British-based WPP, which owns JWT and Ogilvy Group, as well as PR giants Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton, could bulk up further by acquiring Interpublic Group (IPG), the owner of McCann-Erickson. Sorrell downplays his attraction. "We'd rather be the biggest by far," he admits, adding about the impact of Publicis Omnicom on WPP, "At worst, it's neutral. At best, it's highly positive. They're going to have their hands full getting regulatory approvals and trying to extract synergies."

    IPG's stock rose 5% on speculation. Sorrell, a finance man to the core, is not the type to buy a company when the expectation of a deal is priced into the stock. But wait and see. If WPP would buy IPG, the combination based on 2012 revenue would be $23 billion. That's the same size as Publicis Omnicom.

    莱维解释说，莱维和沃伦打算在新公司担任联席首席执行官，任期30个月。这样做的原因之一是为了“让客户适应新的组合。”即便如此，新组合本身依然存在风险。WPP首席执行官马丁•索瑞尔说：至少在阳狮宏盟通过监管审查之前，“联席首席执行官不会是一个轻松的管理构架。”。马丁是全球最大的广告控股公司的掌门人。（沃伦说，需要在41个国家拿到批准。）的确，企业发展史上充斥着失败的联席首席执行官案例；过分的自我意识尤其会破坏高管之间的关系，同时损害企业利益，对于大型跨国企业来说更是如此。花旗(Citigroup)的桑迪•威尔和约翰•里德便是例子。

    计划是这样的，莱维将继续在巴黎负责公司业务，而沃伦则呆在纽约。莱维说，他们在客户服务方面持有“完全相同的态度”。然而，怀疑人士对权力的平衡感到担忧。71岁的莱维打算在30个月后将执掌大权交给61岁的沃伦。对于投资者来说，莱维的业绩要比沃伦好得多。受益于数字行业收购和新兴市场投资，阳狮的股价在过去的5年中翻了两番多。而同期宏盟的股价只上升了约70%。索瑞尔说，尽管宏盟在上世纪90年代的年收益率达到了30%，但公司增长的放缓说明沃伦的策略“并没有奏效”。

    WPP负责人将阳狮-宏盟的合并称之为“极其大胆、勇敢而又惊人的举动”，而且目前，他作为旁观者对此艳羡不已。少数对阳狮-宏盟合并不满的客户可能会投向索瑞尔的怀抱。与此同时，一些行业观察人士认为，总部位于英国的WPP可能会通过收购麦肯集团（McCann-Erickson）的母公司埃培智集团（Interpublic Group）来进一步壮大自己的实力。WPP旗下拥有智威汤逊（JWT）和奥美集团（Ogilvy Group），以及公关巨头博雅公关（Burson-Marsteller）和伟达公关（HillKnowlton）。索瑞尔并没有过多地去表露自己的羡慕之情。他在谈到合并对WPP的影响时承认：“到目前为止，我们仍然希望做最大的广告商。最坏的情况：合并对我们来说是喜忧参半。最好的情况：它会带来非常积极的影响。光是监管批准和磨合过程就够他们忙的了。”

    消息一出，埃培智的股票应声上涨了5%。对于极具金融头脑的索瑞尔来说，当一家公司的股价因交易预期而上扬时，他是不会去收购这家公司的。但是让我们拭目以待吧。如果WPP购买埃培智，双方根据2012年的合并营业额将达到230亿美元，跟阳狮宏盟的营收规模不相上下。（财富中文网）

    译者：翔