Publicis strikes $3.7bn Sapient deal

MAURICE LEVYPublicis Groupe has boosted its digital credentials with a $3.7bn (£2.3bn) cash deal for Sapient Corp – owner of SapientNitro – six months after its proposed merger with Omnicom collapsed.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Publicis will shift the majority of its digital activities to the new agency – Publicis.Sapient – with the likes of DigitasLBI, Razorfish and Rosetta likely to be folded in. The future of the brands is less certain.
Sapient’s clients include Fiat, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer.
Sapient chief executive Alan Herrick will be CEO of Publicis.Sapient and the French firm claims the deal will help it reach a target of generating half of its revenue from digital offers three years ahead of plan.
“We’ve been investing for many years in digital capabilities for one simple reason: it’s the future,” Publicis boss Maurice Levy. “The pace of innovation is accelerating faster than ever. These mean big challenges for our clients.”
Sapient reported pre-tax 2013 earnings of $160.3m (£100m) on sales of $1.31bn (£820m), according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The proposed $35.1bn (£22.8bn) merger between Omnicom and Publicis – which collapsed in May – led to the loss of billions of pounds worth of accounts, as they tried to seal the merger. In April, Vodafone moved its $1bn global ad and media account from Omnicom to WPP. Marks & Spencer, Danone, and GSK also defected.
The break-up followed concerns of a cultural clash between the two groups, and worries that the deal was taking too long to complete – to the detriment of both businesses.
UK direct and digital agencies which could have been affected by the deal included Rapp, TBCH, Agency Republic, Proximity London, Publicis Chemistry, Kitcatt Nohr, Arc, Razorfish and Saatchi X.

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