U.S. data platform LiveRamp to be acquired by France's Publicis to expand AI offering

Shares of small cap LiveRamp, which offers software solutions for data and marketing, surged more than 27% on Monday after the company said it would be acquired at a premium by French advertising group Publicis. The deal will help Publicis deploy AI agents and expand into a new addressable market, the companies said.

LiveRamp shares climbed more than 27% on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday to $37.80 per share. That marked the stock’s highest level since February 2024.

The rally was triggered by the company’s announcement that it would be acquired by Publicis. The deal values LiveRamp at $2.55 billion, or $38.50 per share. That is nearly 30% above the U.S. company’s closing price on Friday, the last trading day before the agreement was announced.

The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to approval by LiveRamp shareholders and regulators, according to the statement.

LiveRamp develops a specialized platform that transforms fragmented and disconnected data into actionable assets for analysis, activation, and measurement. The platform enables thousands of brands, retailers, and media platforms to collaborate and connect data, according to the press release.

In early March, the company announced new capabilities allowing AI agents to operate within its platform. The agents would be able to do what marketers previously handled manually: build audiences, measure campaign performance, and optimize spending.

“There is no way you can win with agents if you don’t have the right and differentiated data,” Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal. “For agents to be competitive and to work, they have to run on good data, data that is unique, actionable, connected.” Sadoun said businesses’ investments in AI will not generate meaningful returns without the necessary data and could undermine companies’ competitive edge.

The planned acquisition is part of Publicis’ broader strategy. The company has been pushing deeper into AI as major advertising holding companies face mounting pressure from investors to prove they can remain relevant to clients in a marketing landscape increasingly shaped by the technology, the Wall Street Journal writes.

As part of that strategy, the French group acquired data-processing company Epsilon in 2019. The acquisition of LiveRamp, meanwhile, will allow Publicis to deploy new technologies, expand its addressable market, and ultimately raise its growth targets for 2027-2028, according to the press release.

LiveRamp shares have gained nearly 29% year to date. The stock has three “hold” ratings versus two “buy” calls from Wall Street analysts. The average target price stands at $36.10 per share, about 6% below the price Publicis will pay for the U.S. developer.