• by Thom Forbes  @tforbes, November 3, 2014

Bouncing back from its inability to close a deal with Omnicom earlier this year to bulk up for a counter-offensive against the Google/Facebook et al. juggernaut, Paris-based Publicis Groupe has agreed to buy Boston-based Sapient for $3.7 billion in cash in a deal that underscores how big a deal Big Data is becoming. Lest there be any doubt about Publicis’ intentions, the sentence introducing the bullet points of the agreement reads: “Transformative acquisition establishes Publicis Groupe as the clear leader in the digital age.”

Both boards unanimously approved the deal; a majority of Sapient investors must now accept the recommendation to tender their shares, which they are expected to do.

“‘We’ve been investing for many years in digital capabilities for one simple reason: it’s the future,’ Publicis CEO Maurice Levy, 72, said on a conference call from New York. ‘The pace of innovation is accelerating faster than ever. These mean big challenges for our clients,’” Bloomberg’s Kristen Schweizer reports. Levy characterized the deal as a  “leap in the transformation of Publicis” and a “cultural fit,” she adds.

“This transaction provides substantial value to our shareholders, offers an ideal cultural match for our people and provides an opportunity to share a wealth of new capabilities with our clients,” said Alan J. Herrick, Sapient president, CEO and co-chairman in the statement announcing the deal and a live webcast this morning at 8 a.m.Paris time. The new unit will be called Publicis Sapient; Herrick will be in charge

“The transaction will push the French company’s digital revenue to more than 50% of its overall figure as soon as 2015,” Inti Landauro and Ruth Bender report in the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story of the brewing alliance yesterday. 

“Sapient, one of a slew of high-flying tech consulting firms in the dot com boom, has gone through many transformations over the past decade,” the WSJ’s Dana Mattioli, Suzanne Vranica and Bender wrote as the deal was percolating. “Once a tech consulting player that helped marketers build websites, the company has expanded its offering through acquisitions. Last year, Sapient bought mPhasize, a company that helps marketers use data to help them figure out where to spend their ad dollars. In 2009, it became more of a traditional ad player when it bought Nitro Group LLC, a traditional ad agency based in New York.”

Renamed SapientNitro, its clients include ActiVision, Audi, Coca-Cola, Footlocker, Staples, Target and Unilever.

Observers — including Levy himself — are portraying the deal as a comeback victory for Levy after the very public clash of egos during the Omnicom fiasco.

 “The Publicis-Omnicom merger was promoted as a bet that scale in a media and marketing world was necessary at a time when technology was increasingly disrupting the business,” write Ed Hammond and Shannon Bond in Financial Times. “But from the start, rivals and analysts warned that the deal faced client conflicts, regulatory risks and culture clashes...”

“The breakdown — at the time, the largest failed deal of the year —was an embarrassment for Publicis, which has devoted much effort in highlighting the benefits of expanding its role in the U.S.”

Not that the Sapient deal isn’t headed for its share of scrutiny and carping.

“Some analysts said Publicis' offer of $25 per share, a 44% premium to Sapient's closing price on Friday, was a hefty price for a company whose growth may have peaked, and that the deal could also dash hopes among the French company's shareholders that cash might be distributed to them,” writes Reuters’ Leila Abboud.

But Levy maintained that “‘the deal will create a foundation for accelerated growth’ by giving Publicis access to new markets and revenues,” Abboud reports.

“The Paris-based company’s traditional business has been struggling this year with chronic stagnation in the French economy and pressure on pricing across the Eurozone,” reportsFortune’s Geoffrey Smith. “Organic revenue fell 0.3% in the year in Europe in the first half, while growth in the world’s largest emerging markets also slowed to only 0.4%.”

WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrel had a provocative take on the deal in a chat with Business Insider’s Lara O’Rielly. “It looks like the behavior of a jilted lover,” Sorrell said. “Christmas came early for Sapient shareholders.”

Well, that does add a little romantic intrigue to a deal done for the strictly for the metrics, doesn’t it?