Friday, February 06, 2015

12485: Publicis.Sapient Is Live.

Advertising Age reported Publicis Groupe completed its acquisition of Sapient. So let the mindless management layers proceed to execute Publicis CEO Maurice Lévy’s destruction of digital. Fortunately for Sapient employees, there will be no layoffs resulting from the deal. Although would anyone notice if Lévy quietly canned a few hundred Sapient staffers in India?

Publicis Completes Sapient Acquisition

Deal Creates a New Digital Network at Holding Company

By Alexandra Bruell

Publicis Groupe has completed its deal for digital and tech firm Sapient Corp.

The French holding company said in early November that it had inked a deal to acquire the Boston-based digital network for $3.7 billion in an all-cash transaction at $25 per share.

“Our clients are facing many adverse trends: from rising global competition, to new comers born from digital, and new paradigms in communications and marketing,” said Publicis Groupe CEO and Chairman Maurice Levy in a statement. “With our new capabilities, we will be best positioned to help them transform their businesses and navigate the new world. [Sapient CEO Alan Herrick] and his teams will bring tremendous talents to Publicis Groupe. I am extremely happy to have them on board, and very confident for our shared future.”

In the statement, he cited Sapient’s marketing, technology and consulting capabilities, as well as its strength in India.

The deal creates a new “digital platform” called Publicis.Sapient. Sapient CEO Alan Herrick will lead the group and join Publicis Groupe’s Directoire. Jerry A. Greenberg, founder and board co-chairman of Sapient, will join Publicis Groupe’s supervisory board as an independent member.

Sapient Corp is broken into three groups: marketing services firm SapientNitro, Sapient Global Markets and Sapient Government Services. The bulk of the network’s staff is in India.

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