Publicis, the French marketing and advertising group, has bought the digital agency Business Interactif for €137 (£92 million).
The group is set to merge Business Interactif with its own digital advertising operation, Digitas, which it acquired last year (see
Publicis Buys US Digital Marketing Firm).
The deal sees Publicis Groupe acquire a 49% stake in Business Interactif in a 50/50 cash and shares deal. In addition, Business Interactif will rebrand its France, Tokyo and Shanghai offices under the Digitas name.
Maurice Levy, chief executive and chairman of Publicis Groupe, said that Business Interactif is the French leader in the market, adding: “The acquisition of Digitas at the beginning of the year was a major strategic turning point for our group, and this repositioning has increased our momentum towards the digital revolution.”
In May, Publicis announced a 6.5% increase in first quarter revenues, to £723 billion, adding it aims to create a global digital advertising agency network to be created from a restructure of Digitas, of which this latest purchase no doubt plays a part (see Publicis Posts First Quarter Revenues Increase).
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