• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 2, 2018

As expected, Interpublic Group confirmed late today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Acxiom Corporation under which IPG will acquire the Acxiom Marketing Solutions business unit in a cash transaction valued at $2.3 billion or net $2.0 billion after consideration of a tax-related benefit. 

The agreement has been approved by the boards of both companies. It is estimated that AMS will account for around 8% of the combined company’s revenue upon closing. 

With the acquisition, the Acxiom brand name will become part of the IPG portfolio. The transaction does not include the LiveRamp business of Acxiom Corporation. 

“In a world where everything is becoming data-driven, Acxiom Marketing Solutions offers the deepest set of capabilities for helping companies navigate the complexity of creating personalized brand experiences across every consumer touchpoint,” stated Michael Roth, IPG’s Chairman and CEO. 

“Over the last year of working closely with AMS to power our AMP data platform, we’ve seen that our cultures are a great fit, and we’ve also seen that the combination creates value for our clients, as it will for our shareholders,” added Roth. 

Dennis Self and Rick Erwin will continue to serve as co-presidents of AMS, which will remain a stand-alone division, aligned with IPG Mediabrands, reporting into Arun Kumar, chief data and marketing technology officer, IPG. 

The deal is expected to close before year-end 2018. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Acxiom’s stockholders, as well as customary regulatory approvals. 

IPG said it has a $2.3 billion bridge facility and expects to obtain long-term financing to fund the transaction in the debt capital markets before closing.