Publicis Groupe officially updated the long-rumored talks between itself and Samsung regarding ownership of the latter’s agency network Cheil Worldwide…by stating that it is no longer involved in those discussions.
This morning, spokespeople for Maurice Levy’s holding company told Reuters and other outlets that talks regarding a “possible investment” in the network, which owns some or all of McKinney, The Barbarian Group and London’s BMB, have collapsed.
Samsung remains a Publicis Groupe client, however, and the latter’s statement aims to dispel any rumors about that pairing:
“The strategic relationship with Samsung is as strong as ever and we will continue to work daily with Samsung and Cheil Worldwide to make the brand even more successful.”
When reading that statement, remember that Samsung concluded its late 2014 global review by sticking with Publicis and adding Rosetta to its agency roster.
The Publicis/Cheil talks were first reported in January–a time when the holding company was in better financial shape prior to losing the P&G media review. As recently as February, rumors held that Samsung would soon accept Publicis’ offer to become Cheil’s largest shareholder with a 30 percent stake. (Samsung Electronics and its engineering wing C&T currently own approximately 25 percent.)
It’s unclear why the talks broke down at this time, because The Korea Times reported yesterday that Samsung still very much wants to sell the Cheil organization to someone. From that report’s anonymous source:
“At least three investors including one Chinese real estate company showed keen interest in acquiring the stake in Cheil. Working-level discussions are underway. The key issue is price.
Also:
“Publicis asked Cheil Worldwide if it could handle Samsung Group’s advertising “for certain periods” exclusively … Cheil later refused to accept [this condition].”
Note the last line and the fact that both of Samsung’s U.S.-based agencies have struggled in recent months. McKinney lost its biggest account, Nationwide, to Ogilvy in February and went through a significant round of downsizing afterward. Still, the North Carolina shop has been producing a steady stream of work: it recently won headlines for a stunt based on North Carolina’s infamous “bathroom bill” and picked up the TuneIn account without a review.
The Barbarian Group is also in the midst of a significant restructuring following the departures of its CEO, founder, owner, chief creative officer, head of talent, head of accounts and more under the leadership of former Cheil executive Peter Kim.
In barely related news, we are sad to report that Mr. Levy has yet to make any public jokes about the “colossal” size of Sir Martin Sorrell’s (pay) package.