Moody's: Omnicom outlook negative

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed Omnicom Group, Inc.'s Baa1 senior unsecured and Prime-2 commercial paper ratings and changed the outlook to negative from stable.

The outlook revision reflects a heightened risk, in Moody's opinion, that Omnicom's working capital deficit could begin to unwind if unusually weak economic and credit market conditions persist and if such conditions cause clients to reduce marketing spend and pull back on the amount of marketing funds they have historically been willing to let agencies manage.

The affirmation of the Baa1 rating acknowledges that Omnicom has some time to address its potential liquidity needs, the agency said, adding that the rating is supported by Omnicom's sizable annual free cash flow generated from its position as the world's largest global advertising and marketing services agency.

The debt-to-EBITDA ratio was about 2.9 times for 2008.

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