Aug 6 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator said

on Wednesday it would not refer the merger between Omnicom ( OMC )

and Interpublic to an in-depth phase 2 probe,

clearing the way for the creation of the world's largest

advertising and marketing agency.

Omnicom ( OMC ) struck the $13.25 billion all-stock deal for rival

Interpublic in December last year. The deal is expected to close

in the second half of 2025.

The Competition and Markets Authority launched its initial

probe into the merger in June to assess if the deal could lead

to a reduction in competition in the UK market.

The deal was cleared by the U.S. FTC in late June on the

condition that the new company does not enter agreements with

others to steer ad dollars towards or away from publishers based

on political content.

Omnicom ( OMC ) and Interpublic did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

(Reporting by Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh

Kuber and Arun Koyyur)