The agreement will see Numerator remain as a standalone business in the short term, but in the long term it will support Kantar’s Worldpanel division and US Ad Intelligence business.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but it is believed to be worth just under $1.5bn. The deal is expected to be finalised by the third quarter of 2021, subject to legal and regulatory processes.

Numerator runs a digital panel of more than one million US consumers and has more than 2,400 employees worldwide. 

The company blends proprietary data with technology to create insights for the market research industry, and has been backed by Vista since 2017. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Kantar’s presence in the US.

Eric Belcher, chief executive of Numerator, said: “In Kantar we have found a natural home.”