NEWS3 February 2014
US — Nielsen will complete its $118.9m acquisition of Harris Interactive today, after 79% of selling stockholders tendered their shares before the offer deadline.
In a statement, Nielsen said it will integrate the bulk of Harris’s business into its consumer research segment, ‘Buy’, but will retain The Harris Poll brand.
John Lewis, president of Nielsen in the Americas, said: “This acquisition enables deeper insights into consumer sentiment as well as what consumers are watching and buying, while also expanding our footprint with important industry verticals including pharmaceutical, automotive and financial services.”
The conclusion of the deal marks the end-point of CEO Al Angrisani’s (pictured) turnaround efforts at Harris Interactive. When he joined the firm in June 2011, after a string of poor results, Harris’s share price was 70 cents. The deal with Nielsen was worth $2.04 a share.