Advertising major Publicis to buy Alliance Data's Epsilon for $4.4 billion

Publicis said the acquisition would be fully financed by debt and cash on hand and it would suspend a share buyback program to keep a 45% dividend payout ratio pledge

Publicis Groupe SA will pay $4.4 billion in cash to acquire Alliance Data Systems Corp.’s marketing unit Epsilon, as the French advertising group seeks to deepen its digital expertise and expand in the US
 

The takeover, the biggest ever for Publicis, was announced by the Paris-based company in a statement on Sunday, two weeks after it confirmed it was in talks with Alliance Data.

The owner of agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett Worldwide is focusing more on data analytics as consumer giants rely less on TV commercials and billboards and shift spending online. Epsilon runs loyalty programs and