Publicis Groupe to acquire Alliance Data’s Epsilon division

Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577, CAC 40) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: ADS) under which Publicis Groupe will acquire Alliance Data’s Epsilon business for a net purchase price of $3.95 billion after tax step-up (total cash consideration of $4.40bn) and build a strategic partnership with Alliance Data remaining business. This acquisition will accelerate the implementation of Publicis’ strategy to become the preferred transformation partner for its clients 

read more

Publicis in talks to acquire Epsilon

Publicis Groupe is in talks to acquire data marketing giant Epsilon, the holding company confirmed Monday. Epsilon, which is owned by Irving, Texas-based Alliance Data Systems, is ranked as the world’s 13th largest agency company with revenue of $2.3 billion in 2017, according to the latest figures from the Ad Age Datacenter. Epsilon reported 2018 worldwide revenue of $2.2 billion.

read more

Advertising companies struggle to adapt to a new world

It has been a miserable year for the holding companies that own the world’s largest advertising groups, with shares in WPP, Publicis, Omnicom and Interpublic Group all down sharply over the past 12 months. Consumer groups are rethinking their marketing spending while unease about the effectiveness of digital advertising has damped investor spirits. With advertising’s Mad Men in danger of becoming sad men, what future is there for the holding companies? Their business model, which has traditionally brought together creative agencies, media buying and planning groups, is under attack on multiple fronts.

read more

Publicis confirms talks with Cheil

In a Q1 earnings announcement Publicis said: “We don’t expect this year to be a year of large or numerous acquisitions” with the possible exception of Samsung’s ad agency Cheil Worldwide, the second largest Asian agency outside of Japan. Levy confirms acquisition talks, believing the South Korean-based agency would be a great fit to complement its digital expertise and global footprint. But he says these discussions have had “ups and downs” and “we are in a plateau today.”

read more

Iris acquires Founded, extends B2B reach

Iris, part of Cheil Worldwide, is acquiring Founded, a creative agency with offices in London and San Francisco. This deal will further extend Iris’ expertise in business-to-business (B2B) marketing, CRM, creative technology and strategic planning. Plus, Iris will now have a footprint on the west coast through Founded’s San Francisco office, opened in 2015. Terms of the deal were not disclosed

read more

Publicis lags behind its peers in organic growth for 2015

Publicis Groupe continues to lag behind its peers in organic growth for 2015. Today the company reported just 0.7% organic growth (which excludes the impact of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and asset sales) for the third quarter and 1% for the first nine months.By comparison, Omnicom posted growth of 6.1% for Q3 and 5.5% for the first nine months.

read more

Publicis buys Relaxnews for about €15 million

PARIS–Advertising agency Publicis SA (PUB.FR) Monday said it bought French press agency Relaxnews (ALRLX.FR) for 9.58 euros ($10.4) a share or a total value of about EUR15 million. Publicis had entered into exclusive negotiations with shareholders of Relaxnews to buy the company in February at the same price.

read more

Publicis acquires Match Media in Australia

French advertising giant Publicis (Paris: FR0000130577 – news) said Wednesday it had bought Australia’s leading independent media agency Match Media. Publicis said Match, which has 75 staff based in Sydney, will be become part of its ZenithOptimedia Group’s “newly launched global media network, Blue 449”.

read more

Publicis Groupe UK revenue declines 4.2%

Publicis Groupe’s UK revenue declined by 4.2 per cent in the first three months of 2015, despite overall revenues climbing 32 per cent following the Sapient acquisition. The owner of Saatchi & Saatchi and Starcom MediaVest Group reported revenues of €2.10 billion, up 31.7 per cent year on year. Read more at Campaign

read more

Publicis Groupe’s Sapient acquires Expecient

Publicis Groupe has acquired Expicient Inc. a leading global omni-channel services firm with significant expertise in inventory and order management systems (OMS), a capability that clients increasingly need to manage inventory, pricing and offers across channels for today’s connected consumer who moves fluidly across digital and physical stores

read more