Publicis Groupe has finalized its acquisition of data marketing company Epsilon for $3.95 billion (£3.13 billion), equivalent to 8.2 times Epsilon’s EBITDA from 2018.
Data compiled for Campaign by Results International revealed the Epsilon deal to be the third-biggest in the marketing and advertising sector.
Publicis said Epsilon would “turbocharge its creative, media and technology operations to accelerate growth.”
It added that Epsilon would become its “unique data-tech platform,” saying the company’s “expertise in onboarding, enriching and activating clients’ first-party data, its unique data sets and its vertical expertise in the auto sector will be placed at the core of the group.”
Epsilon will continue to be run by chief executive Bryan Kennedy, who will join Publicis’ executive committee and report to chairman and chief executive Arthur Sadoun.
Further integrations will include Epsilon’s creative agency businesses being combined with Publicis Communications North America. The Publicis PeopleCloud platform will be folded into Epsilon.
“We are very pleased to have finalized the closing of the Epsilon acquisition in record time, at a very compelling price, creating immediate value for our shareholders. This acquisition completes our sets of assets harmoniously, with data capabilities that are second to none, and propels the group as the global leader of personalised experiences at scale,” said Sadoun. “With the addition of Epsilon’s capabilities in data to our existing creative, media and technology firepower, we have all the necessary assets and talent to help our clients leapfrog their competition and grow profitably, in a data-led, digital-first world.
This story first appeared on campaignlive.co.uk.
