India's Antitrust Sweep: Global Advertising Giants Under Scrutiny

The Indian antitrust body conducted raids on international advertising firms like GroupM, Dentsu, and Interpublic Group, accusing them of price collusion. Searches occurred in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Gurugram as part of a case against these agencies over alleged rate and discount fixing practices.

The Indian antitrust authority has launched a series of raids on several global ad industry titans, including GroupM, Dentsu, and Interpublic Group, along with an industry body for broadcasters, over suspicion of price collusion, according to insiders.

The Competition Commission of India carried out searches at approximately 10 sites after initiating proceedings against the agencies and leading broadcasters for alleged manipulation of ad prices and discount structures. Insiders confirmed the involved entities' identities.

Operations took place in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Gurugram, with Reuters as the first to reveal this sweeping enforcement action and case specifics involving the media agencies. Notably, GroupM is the premier global media buying agency, and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation—a representative of major broadcasters—also faces scrutiny.

(With inputs from agencies.)