Global advertising firm Publicis Groupe has announced that it will be acquiring up to 24.9% of Matomy for approximately £50.5 million.

Publicis is buying 20% of the performance advertising company’s shares at £2.27 per unit, but it has been granted the irrevocable option to also purchase a further 4.9% of Matomy’s business. 

When Matomy initially filed for its IPO there were 89,276,028 ordinary shares in issue, which included those on the London Stock Exchange and in private hands. With this in mind, today’s acquisition values the whole company at £202.7 million.

Competition hotting up

The deal puts both companies in direct competition with Publigroupe, which itself has shares in Matomy competitor zanox. Both Matomy and Publicis have aspirations to become a global leader in performance-based advertising, and this is being viewed as a key reason for the purchase of shares.

Having previously been unable to make a merger with Omnicom work, Maurice Lévy, chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe spoke of the depth of ad talent that contributed to where Matomy is today.

“We make it a priority to invest in the brightest and most promising talent and technology that will give our clients around the world unrivalled access to these services. We have pioneered and invested in new technology, open platforms and partnerships,” he said.

“With Matomy, we will continue to build and promote an open environment for the exchange of ideas and innovation, essential to staying on top in today’s transformational digital age.”

Access to clients

Matomy looks set to benefit by tapping into Publicis’ list of clients to offer a performance-based pricing model for their campaigns that will fuel the Israeli company’s expansion plans.

In its latest financials, Matomy recorded strong revenue increases and significant EBITDA rises, a trend that is continuing according to company chairman Ilan Shiloah.

“We are seeing an impressive transformation in the digital advertising industry, and the ‘pure’ performance-based advertising space is an area of high growth potential fuelled by innovation and technology across all channels,” Shiloah revealed.

“With Publicis Groupe becoming our largest shareholder, we will be able to create a more mature and sustainable ecosystem, providing marketers with an unprecedented ability to accurately engage, acquire and retain customers.”