The Harris Interactive board has unanimously approved the transaction.

President and CEO of Harris Interactive, Al Angrisani (pictured), said: “This announcement reflects the successful completion of the turnaround strategy that we began in July 2011, and will deliver to Harris Interactive stockholders meaningful value and liquidity immediately upon closing. Harris Interactive’s board of director’s selected the Nielsen transaction after a thorough review of the company’s strategic alternatives that began earlier this year.”

“For our existing CPG and media clients, our combined capabilities will provide better and more integrated insights to help them drive business outcomes,” added John J. Lewis, president, Americas, Nielsen. “Harris Interactive’s strength with other industry verticals allows us to serve these clients with Nielsen’s differentiated solutions in areas such as marketing effectiveness, social and digital to achieve our growth objectives.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Nielsen will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Harris Interactive’s common stock through a wholly-owned subsidiary formed for the purpose of making the offer.

More information can be found here.