{"text":[[{"start":11.9,"text":"Publicis has agreed to buy US data company LiveRamp in a $2.2bn deal, as the French advertising group accelerates its push into AI marketing."}],[{"start":22.450000000000003,"text":"Publicis said its all-cash takeover of LiveRamp valued the US company at $38.50 a share, almost 30 per cent higher than its closing price on Friday. "}],[{"start":32.150000000000006,"text":"Arthur Sadoun, Publicis chair and chief executive, said the acquisition would help its clients to “generate new, exclusive and proprietary data, to build the smartest, most differentiated AI agents on top of the leading [large language models]”."}],[{"start":48.550000000000004,"text":"AI is causing widespread disruption in the advertising industry, with marketing agencies facing a major threat from tools powered by the technology that can replicate many of their traditional services."}],[{"start":59.60000000000001,"text":"But Sadoun told the FT in February that early investment in AI tools for clients had helped Publicis to expand its business while many rivals had shrunk. "}],[{"start":70.45,"text":"LiveRamp enables retailers, financial services companies and healthcare businesses, as well as companies in other industries, to scan and analyse data from many sources, including advertisers, to build a better picture of their customers."}],[{"start":84.15,"text":"Publicis said the acquisition of LiveRamp would help the French group provide its clients with tailored data sets to make their own AI systems perform better. "}],[{"start":93.05000000000001,"text":"The acquisition follows Publicis’ $4.4bn purchase of data specialist Epsilon in 2019, the French company’s largest ever deal."}],[{"start":102.9,"text":"In explaining its capabilities following the two acquisitions, Publicis gave the example of how it could help a bank to develop an AI wealth management agent that could process data from multiple sources and use it to cross-sell products to the lender’s customers. "}],[{"start":116.9,"text":"Publicis’ acquisition of LiveRamp puts an equity value of more than $2.5bn on the US company. But the deal has an enterprise value of $2.2bn, because LiveRamp has $379mn of net cash on its balance sheet. "}],[{"start":132.15,"text":"Publicis will use cash and debt to fund the takeover."}],[{"start":136.5,"text":"LiveRamp chief executive Scott Howe, who will continue in the role and report to Sadoun, said: “This transaction reflects the strength of our business, the value of our platform and the strategic role LiveRamp plays in an AI-driven market.”"}],[{"start":151.4,"text":"The deal had unanimous approval from the boards of both companies, Publicis said."}],[{"start":156.70000000000002,"text":"Excluding transaction costs of €30mn, the takeover of LiveRamp would boost Publicis’s headline earnings per share from the first year of consolidation, the French company added. "}],[{"start":168.20000000000002,"text":"Publicis now expects its headline earnings per share to grow by 8 per cent in 2027 and 10 per cent in 2028 at constant currencies, up from previous guidance of 7 per cent and 9 per cent for the two years."}],[{"start":180.95000000000002,"text":"The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to approval by shareholders and regulators."}],[{"start":196.65000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779073159_7465.mp3"}