Romanian advertising and communication company The Group, owned by Romanian entrepreneurs Zoltan Szigeti and Mihaela Nicola merged with American Omnicom's subsidiary in the country. The Group will become a shareholder in OMD and Phd, Omnicom's media buying agencies in Romania.

The two Romanians created The Group seven years ago. It includes 18 media agencies, in communication and marketing. Zoltan Szigeti and Mihaela Nicola previously led the Ogilvy subsidiary in Romania. The two companies will together hold around a quarter of the local advertising market, according to media reports.

Liana Mihai, former managing director of The Group's House of Media became Omnicom's managing director for its OMD agency in Romania. She replaced Cristian Mucichescu, who left three months ago to lead the advertising sales division for Intact media group's TV channels.

Omnicom posted USD 952 million in worldwide revenues in 2011, up 15 percent from the year before. The group works with 5,000 clients in 100 countries.

editor@romania-insider.com