Publicis Acquires Performics From Google, Expands Search Marketing Capabilities

In a major expansion of its search marketing capabilities, Paris-based Publicis Groupe has acquired the Performics Search Marketing business from Google. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Publicis, the parent of Starcom MediaVest Group, Zenith Optimedia Group, Digitas, Denuo, and agencies such as Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi, said Chicago-based Performics would be integrated into Publicis' new VivaKi Nerve Center, headed by long-term digital media czar Curt Hecht.

VivaKi was created in June to leverage the collective scale of Digitas, Starcom-MediaVest, Zenith-Optimedia and Denuo to develop new services, tools and partnerships, including new and emerging performance marketing platforms, and the Nerve Center houses their key performance marketing assets, including Phonevalley, Webformance, Click2Sales and iBase.

Launched in 1998, Performics employs nearly 200 search marketing specialists with employees in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, London, Hamburg, Sydney, Singapore and Beijing.

Google did not comment on the reasons for its divestiture of the unit, but in a statement, Chairman-CEO Eric Schmidt said, "We look forward to working with Performics as a partner."

Earlier this year, Publicis and Google disclosed that they had entered a unique collaborative alliance to share information and work processes that also includes the exchange of executives between the two organizations. Details of that relationship have not been disclosed.

The companies said the sale of Performics is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval.

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