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French advertising group Publicis says it is to buy Boston-based marketing, communications and consulting firm Sapient for $3.7 billion.
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Publicis says in a statement Monday that once completed, the all-cash takeover agreed to by both sides will boost its digital and interactive services business to half of the group’s total, and lead to higher revenue growth.
The deal comes six months after the collapse of Publicis’ $35 billion merger with Omnicom Group, which had been touted as creating the world’s largest advertising firm.
Paris-based Publicis runs its namesake agency as well as Leo Burnett Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and DigitasLBi.
Sapient employs 13, 000 people at 37 locations around the world. It reported $1.36 billion in revenue for the 12 months to June 30, 2014.
Maurice Levy, was born and raised in Oujda a French protectorate in Morocco. After building a reputation as a rising star in the world of advertising, Levy joined Paris, France based Publicis in 1971, taking up the role of the company’s IT Director.
Levy’s dynamism and vision saw climb to the top at Publicis and was eventually appointed successor to the company’s founder and CEO Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, when he stepped down in November 1987.
Since taking charge at Publicis, Levy has been recognized within the industry as the power that has pushed it into one of the leading forces in the world of advertising. For many years rumors have been rife that Publicis would ultimately either acquire or merge with another of the major ad holding corporations.
