July 3, 2018
Addition of AMS will bring a foundational data asset to Willkie client Interpublic Group, offering unrivalled consumer data-driven marketing efforts across its portfolio of companies.
Interpublic Group (IPG), one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies, announced it will acquire consumer data aggregator Acxiom Marketing Solutions (AMS) in a transaction valued at $2.3 billion. The deal combines AMS's expertise in data management with IPG's media, creative, marketing services and analytics capabilities, global platform and consumer knowledge.
The transaction includes all of Acxiom's data and data services, and once finalized, AMS will represent approximately 8% of the combined company's revenues, diversifying IPG's revenue base by client and practice discipline. The addition of AMS will enable IPG to deliver a foundational data asset to its client roster and 50,000-person global workforce, based on a data set covering two-thirds of the global population. With the acquisition, the Acxiom brand name will become part of the IPG portfolio and will spur development of data-led offerings across the holding company, to further position IPG to accelerate future revenue and earnings growth.
Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG) is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include Craft, FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, Jack Morton, MAGNA, McCann, Momentum, MRM//McCann, MullenLowe Group, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Other leading brands include Avrett Free Ginsberg, Campbell Ewald, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, ID Media and The Martin Agency.
Acxiom Marketing Solutions delivers real-time customer experiences through its data by providing brands, media and technology partners with data management, data strategy, analytics and audience creation services. The company has 2,100 employees including 1,600 data specialists, over 2,000 world-class clients, access to hundreds of marketing databases, recognizes 2.2 billion connected consumers and manages over 20 billion customer records.
The Willkie deal team was led by partners Steven Gartner, Danielle Scalzo and Eugene Chang, and included partners Jordan Messinger and David Tarr, and associate Anne Barrett.
