May 8 (Reuters) - The proposed $35 billion merger betweenOmnicom Group Inc, the No. 1 U.S. advertising company,and French rival Publicis Groupe SA has been calledoff, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing peoplebriefed on the matter.
The boards of both companies met on Thursday to finalize thedecision, the Times reported. (http://r.reuters.com/fur29v)
The two companies last July announced the merger that wouldovertake WPP Plc as the world's largest advertisingcompany. (Reporting by Aman Shah in Bangalore; Editing by Eric Walsh)
WPP (WPP)
