Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe<\/strong><\/span>, explained on this purchase: \u201cOur clients are facing increasing pressure from the rise in consumer expectations, the mainstreaming of direct-to-consumer brands and new data regulations. The only response is to deliver personalized experiences at scale. They have to transform to meet this new market imperative.<\/p>\n \u00abWith the acquisition of Epsilon, Publicis Groupe is bringing the necessary technology, expertise and the talent to complement our offer in creativity, media and business transformation, and help our clients leapfrog their competition and grow profitably.<\/p>\n \u00abIn 2018 with an unprecedented run of major New Business wins, we demonstrated that we have the right model to be the preferred partner of our clients in their transformation. This acquisition will accelerate its implementation, turbo-charge our game changers and help us grow faster by offering an even more end-to-end solution to our clients.<\/p>\n With this critical move, we are going further, faster and deeper in our own transformation, becoming a leader in this data-led, digital-first world. It\u2019s a one-time opportunity, with very compelling financial terms and delivering double-digit accretion of Headline EPS and Free Cash Flow from Year 1 (2020). \u00abI’m pleased to say today’s announcement represents a trifecta win for Alliance Data, Epsilon and Publicis Groupe,\u00bb said Ed Heffernan, President and CEO of Alliance Data<\/strong><\/span>. \u00abThe announcement of this transaction represents the culmination of an extensive assessment of strategic options for our Epsilon business. With this transaction, Alliance Data is executing on its previously announced goals of transitioning into a leaner, more focused organization and unlocking additional shareholder value while also finding what we believe to be the right home for Epsilon’s technology, data assets and associates. We believe that Publicis Groupe will be the ideal cultural and strategic fit for Epsilon and its Conversant\u00ae business, and will help drive Publicis Groupe’s own transformation in today’s data-driven digital world.<\/p>\n \u00abFurthermore, the unique relationships that have been cultivated between Epsilon and our other Alliance Data businesses will remain intact, and we look forward to working with Publicis Groupe to develop a broader relationship, and promoting mutual and sustainable growth going forward.\u00bb<\/p>\n Maurice L\u00e9vy, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Publicis<\/strong><\/span>, added: \u201cThe Conseil de Surveillance has thoroughly and carefully reviewed this transaction and has approved it unanimously considering that it would be good for all stakeholders.<\/p>\n \u00abFor the clients: it will accelerate the transformation of Publicis making it a more relevant and more competitive partner. \u00abThe Conseil de Surveillance has been convinced by the approach of the Directoire and its Chairman and CEO, Arthur Sadoun, on the integration. The plan is reasonable and should lead to a seamless integration with great potential in growth and cost synergies. We are confident that the plan will deliver the expected results on services, growth and synergies.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryan Kennedy, CEO of Epsilon<\/strong><\/span>, said:\u201cWe are thrilled to join the Publicis Groupe family. During extensive discussions with the Publicis leadership team during the recent review process, we found powerful common ground, including shared values and a strong vision for the future of data-driven, digital-first marketing.\u00bb<\/p>\n Seven in 10 largest US companies trust in Epsilon<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Epsilon\u2019s success is evidenced by the endorsement of its blue chip clients: Epsilon has gained the trust of at least 7 out of the 10 largest US companies across various sectors including Auto, Retail, Financial Services, CPG and Media.<\/p>\n In addition, its top 50 clients have an average tenure of 14 years and have generated an 8% yearly growth on average over the last two years, demonstrating the significant client benefits delivered by Epsilon. Epsilon has developed extremely strong artificial intelligence capabilities allowing consumer behavior predictions. A win-win transaction<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Epsilon will fuel the entire Publicis organization, complementing its existing Solutions and boosting its Game Changers on the creative, media and digital business transformation fields.<\/p>\n On the creative side, Epsilon assets will bring customer insights to improve ideation and build more relevant campaigns. By powering the Dynamic Creative Engine, Publicis will go one step further to adapt to real time context of customers (who they are, what they do, what theybuy).<\/p>\n On the media side, the connection between Epsilon\u2019s data sets and Publicis Media\u2019s billions of touchpoints will provide superior intelligence to build consumer IDs, segment audiences and maximize media buying ROI by accurately measuring and optimizing campaigns in real time.<\/p>\n On the Digital Business Transformation side, Epsilon will allow Publicis to deliver deep proprietary customer insights to further optimize clients\u2019 business model.<\/p>\n Conversely, Epsilon\u2019s potential will be fully unlocked within Publicis Groupe, thanks to well identified value creation levers. In particular, Epsilon will benefit from Publicis\u2019 client portfolio and global reach to expand further in the U.S. and overseas. Publicis also intends to replicate the success of Epsilon\u2019s unique Auto platform to other verticals (such as Health, Financial Services, Telecommunications, Retail).<\/p>\n Image over the headline.-<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a9 Epsilon<\/span><\/p>\n Related eastwind Marketing links<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Publicis AI platform Marcel is born, but still in Beta<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eastwind.es\/marketing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Arthur-Sadoun_maurice-L\u00e9vy_Publicis.jpg\")
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\nWe are thrilled to welcome Epsilon\u2019s remarkable teams and look forward to working together for our clients and growing our relationship with Alliance Data.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFor the talents: in a highly competitive environment for talents, Publicis will be in a position to benefit from a remarkable leadership team, 3 700 data scientists and great technology teams and artificia intelligence experts.
\nFor our shareholders: the transaction, which was not planned, has great merits from a financial point of view. The price is fair, the transaction is headline EPS and Free Cash Flow accretive at double digit level, it gives a stronger profile of growth and a new and better balanced mix of product and revenues. Therefore, it will generate value creation that will greatly benefit our shareholders.<\/p>\n
\nEpsilon has built its assets in technology, data and platforms at an impressive scale. For example, its loyalty software serves 600 million accounts, it has more than 250 million unique consumers identified in the US, and its proprietary platforms Conversant handle 1 billion updates every 5 minutes allowing to further improve messaging based on consumer insights on a real time basis.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nIn a world where data privacy is paramount, Epsilon remains at the forefront of consumer privacy, cybersecurity and risk management compliance matters.<\/p>\n