LiveRamp to join Publicis Groupe in $2.2b data platform deal 

France – Publicis Groupe has entered into an agreement to acquire LiveRamp in a $2.2 billion all-cash deal, expanding its addressable market and prompting an upward revision of its 2027–2028 financial targets.

The deal values LiveRamp at a total enterprise value of $2.2 billion and strengthens Publicis Groupe’s position in data collaboration as it deepens its investment in technology, data, and AI services. The acquisition is expected to support higher long-term growth targets for net revenue and headline EPS.

With this acquisition, for a total enterprise value of $2.2 billion, the Groupe furtheres its investment in technology, data, and AI services to unlock new opportunities for the agentic era. In doing so, it will expand its addressable market, allowing it to raise its 2027-2028 objectives on net revenue and headline EPS growth at constant currency.

LiveRamp is a global data collaboration platform that enables companies to unify, manage, and activate data across the digital ecosystem. 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.

Interoperable by design, it connects over 25,000 publisher domains and 500+ technology and data partners across 14 markets, enabling collaboration across brands, retailers, media platforms, and data providers. It transforms fragmented data into unified, actionable data assets for activation and measurement.

With 1,300 employees and a recurring revenue model, LiveRamp has delivered a trailing five-year CAGR of 13%.

Under the terms of the agreement, Publicis will acquire LiveRamp at $38.50 per share, representing a $2.167 billion enterprise value and a $2.546 billion equity value, including net cash of $379 million. The offer represents a 29.8% premium to LiveRamp’s last closing price before the announcement.

The transaction is expected to be accretive to Publicis Groupe’s headline EPS from the first year of consolidation, excluding transaction costs. Publicis has also raised its 2027–2028 constant currency growth targets to +7% to +8% for net revenue and +8% to +10% for headline EPS, up from previous guidance.

The deal has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards.

Following the acquisition, LiveRamp’s leadership and operating model will remain largely unchanged. 

According to the company, CEO Scott Howe will continue to lead the company and report directly to Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun. LiveRamp’s financials will be reported under Publicis’ Technology segment, alongside Publicis Sapient.

LiveRamp will continue to operate as a neutral, interoperable platform with open access across the ecosystem. No customer will be restricted from accessing or using its services.

The company also assured the public that they will maintain their existing commitments on data privacy, handling client, partner, and publisher data in line with contractual obligations and without extending usage beyond agreed terms. It will also continue standard commercial practices, with no changes to pricing outside normal business operations.

As part of Publicis, LiveRamp is expected to benefit from greater investment, scale, and expanded innovation capabilities while maintaining its neutrality and interoperability.

“We are thrilled to announce our agreement with Publicis, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for LiveRamp and all our stakeholders,” Howe said. “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.”

The transaction has been signed and is expected to close before year-end 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals as well as other closing conditions.

“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,” Sadoun said. 

“Beyond its technology platform, LiveRamp is a team of outstanding talent that we have had the opportunity to work closely with through our strategic partnership. We’re looking forward to welcoming them all to the Publicis family,” he added.