Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies slumped 1.3% in morning trade Wednesday, after the advertising company confirmed that it has been contacted by regulators regarding video production practices. The company’s statement follows a report in The Wall Street Journal that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating whether ad agencies engaged in bid rigging by steering business to their in-house units over independent companies. In Wednesday’s statement, Interpublic said one of its standalone domestic agencies was contacted by the DOJ’s antitrust division for documents regarding video production practices. The company said it was cooperating with the investigation. “The policies in our company’s Code of Conduct require that we do business in a manner that is fully consistent with the best interests of our clients–in the case of production, that means requiring triple bids on all projects above a minimal dollar threshold,” the company said in its statement. The stock has lost 1.4% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.2%.
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