(Reuters) - The proposed US$35 billion (S$43.6 billion) merger between Omnicom Group, the No. 1 U.S. advertising company, and French rival Publicis Groupe has been called off, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people briefed on the matter.

The boards of both companies met on Thursday to finalize the decision, the Times reported.

The two companies last July announced the merger that would overtake WPP Plc as the world's largest advertising company.