French advertising behemoth Publicis is buying Boston-based technology and consultancy service company Sapient in an all-cash transaction for $25.00 per share, or $3.7 billion. The agreement has been approved unanimously by the boards of both the companies. The transaction will give it access to new markets as well as new revenue streams, says Publicis.
Publicis.Sapient will be Publicis Groupe’s newly created platform, post the acquisition. The new organization will work at the convergence of communication, marketing, commerce and technology, leveraging the capabilities of SapientNitro, Sapient Global Markets, Sapient Government Services, DigitasLBi, Razorfish Global and Rosetta, according to the company.
Publicis.Sapient will be headed by Alan Herrick, who has been Sapient’s CEO since October 2006. Mr. Herrick will also serve on Publicis’s board. Jerry Greenberg, founder and board Co-Chairman of Sapient, will join Publicis’s supervisory board as an independent member.
Bank of America and Rothschild acted as financial advisors and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal advisor to Publicis Groupe. Goldman Sachs and Blackstone Advisory Partners acted as financial advisors and Cravath, Swaine & Moore acted as legal advisor to Sapient.
[Image courtesy: Publicis]