Publicis Groupe is acquiring LiveRamp, a global data collaboration platform connecting more than 25,000 publisher domains and 500-plus technology and data partners, in an all-cash deal valuing the company at $2.167 billion (AUD3 billion).
The France-based advertising group said the acquisition positions it as a leader in data co-creation, the process of combining multiple data sources across partners in secure environments to generate new proprietary data assets for AI-powered marketing.
Publicis, considered the market leader in positioning data as a core asset, said LiveRamp combined with Epsilon's identity capabilities will enable clients to build more intelligent AI agents.
"After acquiring Epsilon in 2019 in the name of personalisation at scale, once again we are looking ahead to what's next," said Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun.
“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.”
LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe will continue to lead the business, reporting to Sadoun. LiveRamp will continue to operate as a neutral, interoperable platform with open access across the ecosystem, with no changes to pricing or data practices.
Publicis has recast its 2027 and 2028 net revenue growth goals to 7%-8%, up from 6%-7%, and headline EPS growth to 8%-10%, from 7%-9%.
LiveRamp has delivered a trailing five-year compound annual revenue growth rate of 13%.
Publicis confirmed its 2026 guidance of a 4% to 5% net revenue organic growth.
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