July 26 (Reuters) - Advertising groups Publicis Groupe SA and Omnicom Group Inc are in late-stage mergertalks, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of thematter.
The deal, which the report said is likely to be structuredas a merger of equals, would combine Publicis agencies such asLeo Burnett Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi with Omnicom's BBDOWorldwide and DDB Worldwide.
The combined entity would be the world's largest advertisingcompany by revenue, overtaking current leader WPP.
Bloomberg, however, reported that the talks could stillcollapse. ()
New York-based Omnicom and Paris-based Publicis were notimmediately available for comment.
Omnicom shares were up about 3 percent in trading after thebell. They closed at $65.11 on the New York Stock Exchange onFriday.
Publicis' shares closed up 1.5 percent at 59.35 euros onFriday.