Processing timeline
1
days
Filed
27 July 2026
Decision Due
7 Sept 2026
Est decision date: 27 Aug 2026. Based on 53 decided Professional & Business Services notifications.
Acquirer(s)
MMS USA Holdings, Inc. Delaware ID 3497138
Target(s) or Vendor(s)
LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. Delaware ID 00138669
Other parties
Covey Merger Sub, Inc. Delaware ID 10622331, Publicis Groupe S.A. Paris Trade and Companies Registry no. 542 080 601
Publicis Groupe S.A., a media and communications group, is acquiring 100% of the outstanding shares of LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. The transaction involves an overlap in data collaboration services, which are used as inputs for media activation and ad-tech.
Publicis Groupe S.A. ( Publicis ) is a media and communications group that offers a wide range of services, including advertising, media planning and buying, data and analytics, digital transformation, and technology consulting services. Publicis provides data collaboration services, including data ingestion and unification capabilities in Australia through Publicis’ Epsilon Data Management, LLC ( Epsilon ) (which includes its Lotame division ( Lotame )). LiveRamp Holdings, Inc ( LiveRamp ) provides a platform that enables companies to unify, manage and activate data across the digital ecosystem. LiveRamp's data collaboration network unites data across advertisers, ad-tech platforms, publishers, data providers, and commerce media networks. Publicis (through Epsilon and Lotame) and LiveRamp’s activities overlap in the supply of data collaboration services. The processes and/or services involved in data collaboration are also used as inputs for media activation into channels including paid media, social media, and broader agency services (i.e. ‘ad-tech’). On 16 May 2026, Publicis entered an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of LiveRamp (the Acquisition ).
The ACCC has prepared a questionnaire on the Acquisition. Submissions or information in response to the Questionnaire should be provided by 4 August 2026 via email to mergers@accc.gov.au with the title Submission re: Publicis Groupe - LiveRamp.