Publicis says confident of winning UK tax residency

PARIS (Reuters) - French advertising group Publicis (PAR:PUB) said it and its merger partner Omnicom (OMNC.N) of the United States are confident they will win the right to have tax residency in Britain as planned.

"The business combination agreement also provides that the new company will take all actions necessary to establish and maintain its residence, for taxation purposes, in the UK," Publicis said in a statement on Thursday following news that completion of the deal may be delayed having not yet won certain approvals.

"We are confident that this will be the case."

The company also gave an update on a number of other regulatory situations, including China, where it said the antitrust process was "ongoing, and we have no indication that approval will not be obtained within a reasonable time period".

The legal domicile of the group is to be in the Netherlands.

The deal also requires approvals from French tax authorities.

(Reporting by Andrew Callus; Editing by James Regan)