Publicis Groupe announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire LiveRamp in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion in enterprise value, as the advertising and technology giant accelerates its push into AI-driven data co-creation and agentic business transformation.
Under the terms of the agreement, Publicis Groupe will acquire LiveRamp for $38.50 per share, representing a total equity value of approximately $2.546 billion, including acquired net cash of $379 million. The offer represents a 29.8% premium to LiveRamp’s closing share price on May 15, 2026.
Publicis said the acquisition will strengthen its investments in technology, data, and AI services, expand its addressable market, and boost its long-term financial targets. The company raised its 2027 and 2028 constant-currency growth objectives to +7% to +8% for net revenue and +8% to +10% for headline EPS, up from previous targets of +6% to +7% and +7% to +9%, respectively.
LiveRamp operates a global data collaboration platform that enables organizations to unify, manage, and activate data across the digital ecosystem. The platform connects more than 25,000 publisher domains and over 500 technology and data partners across 14 markets, supporting thousands of brands, retailers, media platforms, and data providers.
Publicis said combining LiveRamp’s collaborative clean room capabilities, connectivity infrastructure, marketplace, and partner network with Epsilon’s identity platform will position the company as a leader in data co-creation during the rise of AI agents and enterprise automation.
The companies outlined multiple use cases for AI-powered agents enabled through secure data collaboration, including banking lifecycle management agents, retailer shopper journey agents, and pharmaceutical optimization agents. Publicis said the combined capabilities would allow enterprises to securely unify fragmented internal and partner data, generate proprietary intelligence, and continuously train AI systems.
Following the transaction, LiveRamp will continue operating as a neutral and interoperable platform. CEO Scott Howe will remain in charge of LiveRamp and report directly to Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun. LiveRamp’s financial results will be reported within Publicis Groupe’s Technology segment alongside Publicis Sapient.
Publicis said the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, shareholder approval, and customary closing conditions.
The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
KEY QUOTES:
“LiveRamp joining Publicis Groupe is the latest demonstration of our commitment to investing in new talent and innovation, ahead of market shifts.
After acquiring Epsilon in 2019 in the name of personalization at scale and enabling our clients to take back control of their data from the walled gardens, by shifting from cookies to identity, once again we are looking ahead to what’s next.
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.
It will be valuable for our clients’ business growth and a new addressable market for Publicis.
Thanks to the Power of One, we expect to be able to quickly unite and deploy LiveRamp’s capabilities globally for clients. Adding it to our ecosystem of Publicis Sapient, Epsilon, and Marcel, means we will go even further, and faster, in delivering agentic transformation to clients, whatever their stage of enterprise readiness, safely, transparently, and in their own environments.
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.”
Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe
“We are thrilled to announce our agreement with Publicis, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for LiveRamp and all our stakeholders.
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.
This transaction also represents the best path forward for our shareholders, delivering significant and certain cash value at a compelling premium.
Above all, this outcome is a testament to our employees, whose hard work and dedication have made LiveRamp the trusted partner it is today, and who will have new opportunities to grow and thrive as part of a global industry leader.”
Scott Howe, CEO, LiveRamp
