Our investments focus on digital expertise, data and technology to strengthen our teams and promote innovation and the offer of new services. The strengthening of our agencies and the development of strategic partnerships and initiatives with major Internet players enables Publicis Groupe to anticipate the changes and evolution of communication industries towards digital technologies. The aim is to offer the most innovative solutions to our clients, in step with the rapid changes in consumer behavior and technologies.
During 2020, marked by Covid-19, the number of acquisitions was limited. The Groupe completed the disposal of Matomy Media Group (a Company consolidated under the equity method), in which it held 24.9%.
Total acquisition costs for entities integrated during 2020 (gross payments, after excluding cash and cash equivalents acquired) came to euro 146 million, including USD 134 million in earn-out payments. In addition, euro 10 million were disbursed for the payment of non-controlling interests.
In 2021, Publicis announced the acquisition of CitrusAd, a software as a service (SaaS) platform optimizing brands marketing performances directly within retailer websites, with headquarters based in Australia. CitrusAd’s expertise in e-commerce sites combined with Epsilon’s Retail Media offer for publishing sites, both powered by the CORE ID, enables Publicis Groupe to lead the new generation of identity-led Retail Media, with completely transparent performance measurement, validated directly by transactions. This acquisition was completed on September 1. While the growth of Retail Media is exponential, this acquisition aims to enable Publicis Groupe’s clients to accelerate their growth in this very dynamic sector. Clients will thus have complete visibility on the consolidated performance of their media investments and unparalleled access to first-party data from e-commerce sites, enabling them to prepare for a world without cookies.
Publicis also completed the acquisition of Boomerang in Benelux, strengthening its dynamic creativity and content offer for both local and global clients. Boomerang’s skills will contribute to strengthening the Groupe’s global Production capabilities, in particular Le Pub, and to the creation of a global center of excellence for Dynamic Creativity, based in the Netherlands.
In December, Publicis announced the launch of SCB Tech X, a joint-venture between Publicis Sapient and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), creating one of the largest fintech operators in South-East Asia. The joint-venture started-up with 1,200 employees and is 60% owned by SCB and 40% by Publicis Sapient. SCB Tech X is a cloud native platform-as-a-service leader, which serves clients in Southeast Asia, at a time when the total value of transactions in the digital payments market is expected to reach more than USD 1 trillion by 2025 in the region. SCB Tech X caters to retailers and consumers across the region and provides both innovative banking services, such as credit, current and savings, and non-financial services, ranging from meal delivery to health and well-being content, to online travel reservations.
Lastly, in December, the Groupe completed the acquisition of 100% of BBK Worldwide (United States), a full-service R&D marketing Company and leader in clinical trials (CTE). BBK enables customers in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to accelerate their R&D programs, advancing research through the unique integration of patient-centric services and proprietary technologies, thus complementing Publicis Health’s existing capabilities in CTE.
Total acquisition costs for entities integrated during 2021 (gross payments, after excluding cash and cash equivalents acquired) came to euro 276 million, including euro 103 million in earn-out payments. In addition, euro 14 million were disbursed for the payment of non-controlling interests.
In 2022, the Groupe made several acquisitions to strengthen its capabilities in Data, Digital Business Transformation and Commerce. In digital transformation, the Groupe acquired Tremend, a Company of 650 engineers and developers, founded 16 years ago and based in Bucharest (Romania), to develop the new Publicis Sapient global distribution center in Europe. The Groupe also acquired Tquila ANZ, one of the leading multi-cloud solution consulting firms in Australia, with the aim of strengthening the Salesforce expertise of Publicis Sapient. In Commerce, the Groupe acquired the SaaS platform, Profitero. With 300 employees, this world leader in e-commerce intelligence enables brands to analyze and optimize their sales, marketing and operational performance on 70 million products sold online on more than 700 e-commerce sites worldwide. In Data, the Groupe acquired Retargetly and Yieldify and integrated them within Epsilon. Retargetly works with distributors and publishers to combine first-party data with partner data for personalized targeting and audience measurement on digital channels. This acquisition enabled Epsilon to launch its activities in Latin America. In addition, the acquisition of Yieldify strengthened the Epsilon PeopleCloud offering with solutions that improve the personalization of sites and the optimization of conversions and the client experience.
