Publicis, the Parisian advertising giant, has secured the acquisition of London digital agency Poke for £10m.

Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the former largest media group in the world, WPP, has voiced doubts over the Publicis-Omnicom merger that shocked the world on Monday morning, describing the move as a "big opportunity" for his agency.

In an unprecedented move, advertising and media giants Publicis Groupe of France and Omnicom of America have announced plans for a $35bn merger that will leapfrog WPP as the world's largest agency.

French media company Publicis Groupe have announced a surge in revenues in the first six months of 2013, reporting growth of 8.7% on last year to a mammoth €3.35 billion (£2.88bn).

Publicis Groupe, the third-largest advertising and PR company in the world, has announced the purchase of Chinese social media network Net@lk, continuing in its five-year strategy to spend $4bn on digital companies in emerging markets.

Media monolith Publicis Groupe have announced plans to spend up to four billion dollars on future acquisitions over the next five years, despite a raft of new purchases since 2007.

The French media group, which owns digital agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Starcom MediaVest, have revealed a 6% drop in shares following the publication of their 2013 Q1 results.

Following last week's £333m acquisition of Amsterdam-based LBi, Publicis Groupe chairman and chief executive Maurice Lévy has announced the merger of the two agencies to create a new global network branded DigitasLBi.