Publicis will pony up $3.7B to buy digital advertising and tech services giant Sapient, six months after the Paris-based ad/PR conglomerate's failed $35B combination with Omnicom.
The 10-year-old, publicly traded Sapient is based in Boston with 13,000 staff across 37 cities. Revenue for fiscal 2014 topped $1.3B.
Publicis CEO Maurice Levy called Sapient a "crown jewel" that fulfills several objectives, including its plan to derive 50% of revenues from digital and tech. His company will pay a 44% premium on Sapient's Oct. 31 share price. Reuters reported some analysts are weary of the price tag and Publicis shares dipped after the news.
Sapient went public in 1996 and operates in three divisions – SapientNitro (marketing and creative), Sapient Global Markets (business and tech services for the finance sector), and Sapient Government Services.
Sapient CEO and co-chair Alan Herrick is joining Publicis' senior management team and will lead Publicis.Sapient. Co-founder Jerry Greenberg takes a supervisory board post at Publicis.
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