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Interpublic Completes Buyout of Acxiom Marketing Solutions

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The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG - Free Report) recently completed the purchase of Acxiom LLC (formerly known as Acxiom Marketing Solutions).

Acxiom LLC is a provider of data-related and analytical services. It will operate as a standalone division within Interpublic and the Acxiom brand name will become part of the latter’s portfolio.

To finance the purchase, Interpublic recently announced the completion of an offering of $2.0 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes. The acquisition does not include the takeover of LiveRamp business. The deal was initially announced on Jul 2, 2018.

The Acquisition & its Expected Benefits

The buyout integrates Interpublic’s media, creative, marketing services and analytics capabilities, global scale and consumer insights with Acxiom's expertise in data, integrations, identity and data stewardship.

Interpublic is optimistic about the acquisition for its financial benefits. The deal should result in incremental revenues and earnings opportunities and boost profitability metrics on a pro-forma basis. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Interpublic’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in the year after the deal closes.

Acxiom, which accounts for almost 8% of the combined entity’s revenues, is likely to diversify Interpublic’s revenue base through client additions and effective execution of business. This should add long-term, contracted revenue streams. Interpublic will start consolidating financial results effective Oct 1, 2018.

Our Take

Given the strong demand for data-integrated and analytical services, we believe that the acquisition of Acxiom is a prudent business move on Interpublic’s part. Notably, the company has been active on the acquisition front to expand its product portfolio.

Enhanced and innovative data-led offerings should strengthen Interpublic’s market position and create more growth opportunities that will boost the top and the bottom lines. So far this year, shares of Interpublic have gained 14.5%, outperforming the 9.5% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite Index.

 

 

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Currently, Interpublic carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services sector include Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR - Free Report) , Paychex (PAYX - Free Report) and Convergys , each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2.

The long-term expected earnings per share growth rate for Broadridge Financial Solutions, Paychex and Convergys is 10%, 8.2% and 7.5%, respectively.

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