Publicis CEO: Merger off as 'equality impossible'
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Publicis CEO Maurice Levy has told CNBC that the decision to call off a $35 billion merger with U.S.-based Omnicom was "an issue of principle."

In an exclusive interview, Levy said the deal had been presented as a merger of equals, but that in the end, it was impossible to get equality. The companies had planned a 50-50 ownership split of the equity in the new firm, with Omnicom head John Wren and Levy serving as co-CEOs for 30 months. But Levy said that equality in the management team was not part of Omnicom's eventual proposals. Read MoreOmnicom, Publicis call off proposed $35 billion merger

"I was going back and forth to try to convince them (Omnicom) that we should have equality; it was impossible to get that equality and this was not the terms of the agreement," Levy told CNBC.

Publicis CEO Maurice Levy Getty Images

He also said that the deal posed a threat to Publicis' business model, which was to be focused on delivering the highest margins in the industry.

"We had the feeling that, in fact, that model may be diluted and the promise that we made to the market - that we would deliver superior margins - would not be met," Levy said. As the world's largest pharmaceutical company Pzifer attempts to acquire AstraZeneca , Levy was asked whether a merger of equals was more difficult to implement than a takeover. Read MorePfizer/AstraZeneca: The numbers you need to watch "Definitely yes," he said. "(In) an acquisition, you are the master, you make your decision - people are acquired and they have no say. (In) a merger of equals, you have to share; to discuss almost every single decision. It's more complicated, definitely."

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