In a second step, as the drop in USD rates significantly reduces the interest income expected on the Groupe’s dollar deposits, the A and C tranches of the medium-term loan signed on June 28, 2019 for the financing of Epsilon were repaid:
Where the Groupe has benefited from governmental support measures, these have been recognized either as a reduction of personnel costs (furlough measures), or a reduction of other operating costs. Only the products for which an application has been made to the relevant authority and the eligibility conditions have been met have been recognized at December 31, 2020. The amount of government aid obtained by the Groupe amounts to euro 20 million.
There was no significant takeover (individually or taken together) during the period.
The fair value, at the acquisition date, of the consideration paid (excluding cash and cash equivalents acquired) of all entities that were fully consolidated (notably including the ones detailed above, as well as smaller acquisitions) with an exclusive takeover during the period, totaled euro 35 million. This amount mainly includes:
The amount paid out in 2020 for acquisitions (net of cash and cash equivalents acquired) totaled euro 146 million and includes:
Acquisitions during the period represented less than 1% of consolidated net revenue in financial year 2020 and less than 1% of net income attributable to equity holders of the parent.
On July 1, 2019, Publicis Groupe completed the full acquisition of Epsilon Data Management, LLC, in fulfillment of the April 2019 agreement with Alliance Data Systems Corporation, for USD 4,451 million.
Epsilon is a unique technology and platform company focusing on maximizing the value of its clients’ data. The integration of Epsilon will allow Publicis Groupe to position itself as a leader in personalized client experiences at scale. This acquisition will accelerate the implementation of Publicis’ strategy to become the preferred transformation partner for its clients.
This acquisition was mainly financed by (i) the issue on June 5, 2019 of a euro 2.25 billion bond in three tranches, and (ii) a medium-term loan established on June 28, 2019 (draw-down effective July 1, 2019) in three tranches (one for USD 900 million and two for euro 150 million each).
