The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights:Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, WPP, Millennial Media and Amazon.com

News provided by

Oct 08, 2013, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC-Free Report), Publicis Groupe SA (OTC:PUBGY-Free Report), WPP Plc. (Nasdaq:WPPGY-Free Report), Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE:MM-Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Mergers & Acquisitions: A Survival Bet for Ad Firms

As smaller ad firms faced the pinch to reduce costs during and after the Great Recession, they offered a lucrative option for takeover by larger firms. Moreover, ad firms received lesser contracts from companies, which reduced their ad budgets to sustain the macroeconomic challenges.

The advertising industry benefits from large economies of scale. The cost structure of the industry is more fixed, compared with other marketing businesses, which make it favorable for smaller companies to collaborate.

Let us look at some key merger & acquisitions that have taken place in the ad industry in the recent past:

Omnicom & Publicis Groupe

The biggest merger in the industry was probably the collaboration of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC-Free Report) and Publicis Groupe SA (OTC:PUBGY-Free Report) in Jul 2013 to create Publicis Omnicom Group. The merger of the world's second- and third-ranked advertising companies created the world's biggest communications, advertising, marketing and digital services company with $22.7 billion in revenues.

The deal and the eventual formation of Publicis Omnicom Group toppled WPP Plc. (Nasdaq:WPPGY-Free Report) as the #1 advertising company. WPP has been a leader in the advertising world since 2008.

WPP & PennyWise

WPP's subsidiary, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), inked a deal in Sep 2013, with PennyWise Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (PennyWise), an India-based digital technology and production company, to acquire a majority stake in the latter. The deal marks an important milestone in WPP's efforts to build its presence in the fast-growing markets and sectors.

Millennial Media & Jumptap

Joining the bandwagon, mobile advertising and data provider Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE:MM-Free Report) inked a definitive agreement in Aug 2013 to acquire privately-held mobile advertising platform Jumptap, Inc. The combined entity has a complimentary product portfolio that is likely to result in economies of scale in the fast-growing mobile ad market.

Dentsu & Aegis

In Mar 2013, Japanese advertising agency Dentsu Inc. acquired UK-based Aegis Group Plc to form one of the biggest global media and marketing networks. The strategic move was aimed to give competition to behemoths like WPP and Omnicom.

The Possible Upcoming Targets

Apart from the cost-saving benefits, the growing influence of digital media in marketing is also believed to have played a key role in the recent mergers and acquisitions in the ad industry. It is believed that these mergers will lead to greater scale and efficiency in digital marketing.

The mergers are expected to enable the ad firms to collate their resources to work more effectively with major Internet and tech players Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

Get the full Report on OMC - FREE

Get the full Report on PUBGY - FREE

Get the full Report on WPPGY - FREE

Get the full Report on MM - FREE

Get the full Report on AMZN - FREE

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
[email protected]
http://www.zacks.com

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.