The French advertising giant has approached the Delhi High Court, arguing the Competition Commission of India has incorrectly named its global parent instead of its Indian legal entity in the ongoing antitrust investigation into alleged collusion in the advertising industry.
Publicis Groupe has mounted a legal challenge against the Competition Commission of India (CCI), arguing that the country's antitrust regulator has incorrectly named the global advertising network instead of its Indian legal entity in its investigation into alleged cartelisation in the advertising industry. Reuters reported.
The dispute, which has been playing out in the Delhi High Court for more than a year, has effectively delayed the CCI's investigation and could have implications for one of India's most significant competition cases involving the media and advertising ecosystem.
The CCI's investigation stems from a sweeping probe launched last year into suspected collusion among major advertising agencies over media pricing, discounts and commercial practices. The regulator carried out searches at the Indian operations of global networks including GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis, Omnicom and others as part of its investigation.
According to Reuters, Publicis has argued that the CCI should amend its investigation records to substitute "Publicis Groupe" with TLG India, the company's Indian legal entity, contending that the proceedings have been initiated against the brand name rather than a legally recognised corporate entity.
The issue has now reached the Delhi High Court. During a hearing last week, counsel appearing for the CCI told the court that the regulator would consider adding TLG India to the proceedings and would return with a decision. However, the regulator also argued that the company's attempt appeared aimed at securing the exclusion of its parent company from the scope of the investigation.
According to Reuters, Publicis has indicated that it would cooperate with the investigation once the legal entity is correctly identified in the proceedings.
Source: Storyboard18
