Mario Gabelli, CEO of GAMCO Investors, likes the shares of merger candidates Interpublic Group, an advertising and marketing concern, and Hillshire Brands, a food company.

A proposed merger between advertising giants Publicis Groupe of France and Omnicon Group recently collapsed, opening the door for something involving Interpublic, Gabelli told CNBC.

"What happens when they can't get together?" Gabelli said. "Will [CEO] Maurice Levy come in and say, look, I have to do a deal? The obvious company is Interpublic."

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The company has performed "terrifically" under CEO Michael Roth over the last seven to eight years, "getting out of their legacy issues of foreign corrupt practices, accounting and so on," Gabelli said.

The company's fundaments are now "very bright," he said. "If you have good fundamentals and the possibility of a merger, that's terrific."

At Hillshire, CEO Sean Connolly has done "a pretty good job of growing the dynamics," Gabelli said. And fundamentals are strong for the chicken industry, he maintains.

The company has recently received takeover offers from both Tyson Foods and JBS' Pilgrim's Pride. Hillshire shares have soared 45 percent since May 23 as a result.

As for a prospective merger with Hillshire, "both Tyson and Pilgrim's are enjoying very good
profitability today, but Hillshire would help secure future earnings growth for both companies," Farha Aslam, an analyst for Stephens Inc., told The Wall Street Journal.

"[That's] because at some point, the chicken cycle will turn. Whoever gets Hillshire will be a more formidable player in the marketplace."

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