France's Publicis to buy US data firm LiveRamp for $2.2 billion

By Mathieu Rosemain and Ruchika ‌Khanna

PARIS, May ​17 (Reuters) - French ​advertising group Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire U.S. data collaboration company LiveRamp for a total enterprise value of about $2.2 billion ‌in an all-cash deal, it said on Sunday.

For Publicis, the acquisition ⁠extends a strategy it has pursued for several years of boosting its data capabilities in order ‌to target consumers more precisely.

LiveRamp ‌offers businesses a platform that allows them to match and connect datasets - such as customer or media data - in a secure way without directly sharing ​personal information.

“It is the latest demonstration of our commitment to investing ahead of market shifts, despite what is an industry being challenged by the ⁠rise of AI and a difficult global context,” Chief Executive Arthur Sadoun said in a video presentation.

Publicis' strategy ​of increasing its access to data to target consumers began with its purchase in 2019 of Epsilon in a $4.4 billion ​deal.

Its approach has helped it to widen the ‌gap with traditional rivals, overtaking WPP and Omnicom to become the world’s most valuable advertising group by market capitalisation.

Under the ⁠terms of Sunday's agreement, Publicis will pay $38.50 per share for LiveRamp, a 29.8% premium to the company’s closing price on May 15, the last trading day before the announcement.

The ⁠deal, which has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, is expected to be incremental ​to earnings from the first year of consolidation, Publicis said.

It is expected to close by the end of 2026, Publicis said, pending LiveRamp shareholders' and regulatory approvals.

In Sunday's statement, the ‌French group also raised its 2027 and 2028 constant-currency growth targets to 7%-8% for net revenue and 8%-10% for headline ‌earnings per share, up from previous guidance of 6%-7% and 7%-9%, respectively.

LiveRamp connects more ⁠than 25,000 publisher domains and ‌over 500 technology and data ​partners across 14 markets, and employs around 1,300 people.

(Reporting by Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; editing by ‌Barbara Lewis)

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