Publicis Groupe has entered into an agreement to acquire LiveRamp, a global data collaboration platform. With LiveRamp, Publicis will become a leader in data co-creation, an important capability in the age of artificial intelligence and an enabler of agentic business transformation. For a total enterprise value of $2.2 billion, the Groupe furthers its investment in technology, data, and AI-services to unlock new opportunities for the agentic era.
Publicis to acquire LiveRamp for 2.167billionenterprisevalue(38.50 per share, 29.8% premium).
LiveRamp connects over 25,000 publisher domains and 500+ technology and data partners across 14 markets.
LiveRamp has 1,300 employees with trailing five-year CAGR of 13%.
Publicis raises 2027-2028 constant currency growth objectives to +7% to +8% for net revenue and +8% to +10% for headline EPS.
Scott Howe, CEO of LiveRamp, will continue to lead LiveRamp reporting to Arthur Sadoun.
Transaction expected to close before year-end 2026.
Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe commented: "LiveRamp joining Publicis Groupe is the latest demonstration of our commitment to investing in new talent and innovation, ahead of market shifts. After acquiring Epsilon in 2019 in the name of personalization at scale, once again we are looking ahead to what's next. 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."
Scott Howe, CEO of LiveRamp, commented: "We are thrilled to announce our agreement with Publicis, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for LiveRamp and all our stakeholders. 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."
Data co-creation is the process by which companies connect multiple high-value data sources across partners in a secure environment. Combined with Epsilon's identity, LiveRamp's collaborative clean rooms, data connectivity, marketplace and partner and agent network will build a leader in data co-creation that enables clients to collaborate with greater speed, security and scale; generate proprietary intelligence; and continuously train and fuel AI models.
The addition of LiveRamp enables data collaboration, safely and securely across partners, co-creating new data to fuel smarter agents for clients. Marcel is the agentic platform that activates this co-created data across clients' enterprise functions.
Under the terms of the agreement, Publicis Groupe will acquire LiveRamp for a total enterprise value of 2.167billioninanall−cashtransaction,basedonanacquisitionpriceof38.50 per share. The transaction represents a total equity value of 2.546billionandincludesacquirednetcashof379 million. The purchase price represents a 29.8% premium to LiveRamp's closing share price on May 15, 2026.
Following the acquisition, LiveRamp will continue to be led by CEO Scott Howe, who will report directly to Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun. LiveRamp will continue to operate as a neutral, interoperable platform and provide open access across the ecosystem.
The transaction has been signed and is expected to close before year-end 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, approval by LiveRamp's shareholders and other closing conditions.
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is a global leader in communication. The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation. Publicis Groupe is a privileged partner in its clients' transformation to enhance personalization at scale.
LiveRamp is a global data collaboration platform that enables companies to unify, manage, and activate data across the digital ecosystem. Interoperable by design, it connects over 25,000 publisher domains and 500+ technology and data partners across 14 markets, and enables thousands of brands, retailers, media platforms, and data providers to collaborate and connect data effectively, efficiently and securely.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.