New York, May 18, 2026, 19:06 EDT
LiveRamp Holdings (RAMP) stock climbed to $37.77 on Monday after Publicis Groupe of France said it would acquire the U.S. data-collaboration firm. The agreed price is $38.50 a share in cash, putting LiveRamp’s equity at $2.546 billion. The enterprise value is $2.167 billion, accounting for cash and debt.
The stock pop wasn’t only about a takeover premium. It gave a clearer market price for part of the ad sector Publicis says will get more important as companies bring in AI agents—software for jobs over data, marketing, and customer tools that need less manual input.
LiveRamp lets companies link up customer, media and partner data without swapping personal details. Publicis refers to this as “data co-creation”—it says firms can pool data in a limited environment to create assets they couldn’t get on their own. GlobeNewswire
The gain came as the market stayed quiet. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, a broad U.S. market tracker, slipped around 0.1%. The Invesco QQQ Trust, which follows major Nasdaq growth stocks, dropped about 0.4%.
LiveRamp has new numbers out for investors. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue came in at $206 million, a 9% gain from last year. Subscription revenue rose 9%, and marketplace and other revenue added 11%. Adjusted earnings per share, which the company calculates after certain exclusions, were $0.52.
LiveRamp pulled in $813 million in revenue for the year, up 9%. Operating cash flow was $168 million. CEO Scott Howe said the company “finished FY26 on a strong note.” Annual recurring revenue, which counts on subscription revenue repeating, climbed 8%. GlobeNewswire
Publicis says its purchase will start lifting headline EPS, which is its adjusted earnings-per-share metric, in the first year after the deal closes and deal costs are stripped out. The company also bumped its 2027 and 2028 constant-currency goals to 7% to 8% for net revenue growth and 8% to 10% for headline EPS.
Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun said the deal is about competing in new markets for agencies. “Where we truly need LiveRamp is to win a fair share of this agentic transformation market,” he told Adweek. “This is where we are making a big shift.” Adweek
Publicis is picking up LiveRamp as it looks for new talent and tech, Sadoun said in the companies’ statement. “We’re investing in new talent and innovation, ahead of market shifts.” Howe said the deal offers the “best path forward for our shareholders,” and gives LiveRamp more size and flexibility. GlobeNewswire
Publicis is sticking with the playbook it used when it bought Epsilon in 2019, picking up another data-focused firm. Reuters says the model has boosted Publicis’s market value lead over WPP and Omnicom.
Publicis said LiveRamp will stay neutral and open to others after the deal. Howe will keep running LiveRamp and report to Sadoun. Its results will get folded into Publicis’s Technology segment.
But shares were still about 1.9% under the offer price, leaving a small gap that suggests investors see some risk around timing and the deal closing. The merger needs a vote from LiveRamp shareholders, as well as antitrust and foreign-investment nods like CFIUS. The deal can be called off if not done by May 16, 2027, unless regulators grant up to three more months.
LiveRamp shares may move less on its own forecasts and more on the outcome of the Publicis deal for now. The company scrapped its May 21 earnings call after agreeing to the merger.
