French ad group Publicis buys Sapient in $3.7bn deal

Paris-based Publicis has bought Sapient. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Publicis, whose attempts to merge with US group Omnicom and create the world's biggest advertising company failed earlier this year, said it had agreed to pay $25 a share for Boston-based Sapient.

The French group said that in acquiring Sapient, its digital operations now represented more than half its business "three years before the goal set out in our strategic plan".

The failure of the Omnicom deal, which would have created an advertising giant to overtake Britain's WPP employing 130,000 staff with annual sales of €20bn, led to a boardroom shake-up at Publicis.

Sapient, a pioneer of Internet-based technology, had turnover of $1.36bn and profits of $85.9m in its last financial year.

On Friday, speculation about the imminent Publicis deal pushed Sapient's shares up 2.79% to $17.32 on the Nasdaq.

Source: AFP, via I-Net Bridge