The acquisition will help further Publicis’ investment in technology, data and AI services, as well as expanding its addressable market and boosting revenue and headline growth. 

LiveRamp will remain a standalone company led by chief executive Scott Howe, who will report directly ton Publicis Groupe chief executive Arthur Sadoun.

Following the deal, LiveRamp stands to benefit from additional investment, scale and innovation capabilities. The company has 1,300 employees worldwide.

The agreement will see Publicis spend $2.167bn on acquiring LiveRamp in an all-cash transaction, based on an acquisition price of $38.50 per share.  

The transaction represents a total equity value of $2.546bn and includes acquired net cash of $379m.

The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.

Arthur Sadoun said: “LiveRamp joining Publicis Groupe is the latest demonstration of our commitment to investing in new talent and innovation, ahead of market shifts.  

“By building the future of data co-creation, we’re empowering our clients to generate new, exclusive and proprietary data, to build the smartest, most differentiated AI agents on top of the leading LLMs. It will be valuable for our clients’ business growth, and a new addressable market for Publicis.”

Scott Howe added: “Our customers and partners have always been our north star, and by joining forces with Publicis, we will have greater resources and flexibility to scale our business, continue innovating our platform and help them unlock even greater value from their data.

“This transaction also represents the best path forward for our shareholders, delivering significant and certain cash value at a compelling premium.”