(Reuters) – Publicis has agreed to acquire Dutch ad agency LBi International NV in a deal valuing the company at 416 million euros ($538.80 million), the French group’s latest move to boost its exposure to digital advertising.
The 2.85 euro-a-share offer, which LBi’s board has accepted, is at a 7.5 percent premium to the ad agency’s closing share price on Thursday.
The deal is the latest in a flurry of M&A activity among ad agencies as the larger groups buy up the few remaining faster growing digitally-focused smaller shops.
“The acquisition of LBi is another step forward in further strengthening our digital operations” Publicis Chief Executive Maurice Lévy said in a statement.
LBi (NYSE EURONEXT AMSTERDAM: LBI) is the world’s largest independent marketing and technology agency, blending insight, media, creativity and technical expertise to create value for brands.
Headquartered in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), we have operations in 17 countries and a staff of approximately 2,050 experts. As a marketing and technology agency, LBi offers services to brands (clients) to help them engage with their customers through digital channels across a wide spectrum of their points of engagement, from initial awareness of the brand, through direct interaction with the services or products offered by the brand, to ongoing relationships with the brand.
We offer a suite of services that are designed to help companies attract, engage and manage customers, more effectively. This full service offering combines analytical, direct marketing and digital competences, which means that we are able to develop big creative ideas in the digital space, build and manage complex transactional websites, run complex CRM programmes and even handle the media buying, planning and electronic public relations for blue chip companies.