Sunday, August 09, 2009

Publicis Groupe to Acquire Razorfish From Microsoft Corporation

PARIS and REDMOND, Washington, August 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Publicis Groupe SA (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) jointly announced today that they have signed an agreement under which Publicis Groupe will acquire Razorfish, a leading digital marketing agency, in a transaction valued at approximately $530 million, expected to be provided in a combination of cash and Publicis Groupe treasury shares. In addition, the parties announced they have signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement that will become effective at the closing of the transaction.

"The acquisition of Razorfish is another step forward in realizing our strategic vision of building a world leader in digital communications, a critically important space for our clients," said Maurice Levy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Publicis Groupe. "More than anything, this acquisition should demonstrate that Publicis Groupe now presents a wider pool of resources, talent, and expertise that will help our clients market their products or services in a way that takes maximum advantage of the new digital world. Our capabilities will be further enhanced by the great talent throughout Razorfish, and we are happy to welcome this new addition to our family."

"Razorfish is known for extraordinary digital customer experiences and brings with it a robust suite of tools that will enhance the current portfolio of capabilities we are building to keep our clients connected to people in an increasingly digital world," added Mr. Levy. "The combination of Razorfish's assets with the complementary expertise we already possess will be highly valuable to our clients and shareholders."

Publicis Groupe to Acquire Razorfish From Microsoft Corporation

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