The data: Digital and data agencies represented 64% of all marketing communications acquisitions between 2016 and 2025, accounting for 57% of total staff added across 845 deals tracked globally, per a 10-year study by COMvergence.

The findings confirm that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the agency sector have shifted from scale-driven expansion to data and technology infrastructure. In addition, deal volume has fallen sharply from its peak. COMvergence recorded 127 transactions in 2016, compared with just 55 in 2025, a slight uptick from 52 in 2024.

Zooming in: The industry’s largest deal reshaped the competitive landscape.

• Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of IPG, completed in late November, created the world’s largest advertising holding company by revenues and combined IPG’s Acxiom data platform with Omnicom’s Flywheel commerce unit.
• The merged entity now expects $1.5 billion in cost cuts by 2028—double its original target—and cut 8,200 roles in 2025.

Zooming out: Outside the mega-merger, acquirers targeted niche expertise. Publicis Groupe and Havas each completed 11 acquisitions in 2025, leading all holding groups, per COMvergence.

• Two-thirds (67%) of acquired firms employed fewer than 100 people, reflecting a preference for specialized digital, CRM, commerce, and AI capabilities over headcount growth.
• Publicis acquired identity platform Lotame to reach 91% of adult internet users.

Implications for marketers and agencies: Holding companies are competing on data infrastructure, not creative scale.

Agencies are buying ad tech to reclaim control from Google and Amazon. For brands, this means agency pitches will increasingly center on first-party data assets and AI-powered targeting rather than creative networks.

The risk is that consolidation narrows choices. As holding companies absorb ad tech platforms and lock down data access, brands may face fewer independent options and higher costs.

Marketers should evaluate whether their agency partners’ data acquisitions translate into measurable campaign performance or whether they simply recreate the walled gardens agencies claim to challenge.