French advertising group Publicis says it’s agreed to a $3.7 billion deal to buy Boston-based marketing, communications and consulting firm Sapient.
Publicis said in a statement Monday that once completed, the all-cash takeover will boost its digital and interactive services business to half of the group’s total, and lead to higher revenue growth.
This is the second acquisition for Publicis in as many months. In September Publicis bought Nurun from Quebecor for $125 million.
The latest deal comes six months after the collapse of Publicis’ $35 billion merger with Omnicom Group, which had been touted as creating the world’s largest advertising firm.
Paris-based Publicis runs its namesake agency as well as Leo Burnett Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and DigitasLBi.
Sapient employs 13,000 people at 37 locations around the world. It reported $1.36 billion in revenue for the 12 months to June 30, 2014.
