From Business Insider · Lara O'Reilly · · 2m
Ad industry dealmaking heats up with 9 strategic buyers
Ad tech M&A activity surges as 9 companies target acquisitions to boost marketing capabilities.
In brief
Ad tech M&A activity surges as 9 companies target acquisitions to boost marketing capabilities. Ad industry analysts predict Accenture, Adobe, Havas, Omnicom, OpenAI, Publicis, Stagwell, The Trade Desk, and Zeta Global will make strategic acquisitions to strengthen their marketing tech and data capabilities…
Ad industry dealmaking heats up
The ad industry's M&A market is stirring back to life with strategic buyers loading up their carts.
Recent acquisitions
Publicis Groupe completed its $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp; Salesforce announced a $5.7 billion deal for Braze; Affle bought Perion for $420 million; and Stagwell acquired Freestar.
M&A prediction rule
Jay MacDonald, CEO of Digital Capital Advisors, says follow ad dollars to predict where M&A could strike next.
AI boom reshapes ad businesses
Ana Milicevic, cofounder of Sparrow Advisers, says AI innovation is causing strategic players to rethink overlooked ad businesses.
Accenture's acquisition plan
Accenture plans to spend around $5 billion on acquisitions in its 2027 financial year to strengthen its marketing services division.
Adobe's competitive challenge
Adobe, fresh off its $1.9 billion acquisition of Semrush, faces competition from creative AI companies like Higgsfield, Runway, and Canva.
Havas' acquisition strategy
Havas completed eight acquisitions in the first nine months of 2026 and may pursue targeted deals before year-end or early 2027.
Omnicom's post-merger focus
Omnicom, after its $9 billion merger with IPG, is targeting retail media acquisitions to bolster its data and commerce assets.
OpenAI's ad growth
OpenAI has over 100,000 advertisers running ChatGPT ad campaigns since its platform's debut eight months ago.
Publicis' data expansion
Publicis plans to build additional data capabilities through acquisitions of European assets to complement its Epsilon platform.
Stagwell's expansion plans
Stagwell aims to expand into Latin America and bolster digital transformation companies through acquisitions.
The Trade Desk's cash position
The Trade Desk has about $1.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet amid revenue deceleration from Amazon and Google.
Zeta Global's acquisition strategy
Zeta Global acquired Marigold's enterprise software business for up to $325 million to expand its customer base and loyalty market.
Zeta's acquisition criteria
Zeta CEO David Steinberg says acquisitions must meet five strategic pillars: be accretive from day one, create cross-selling opportunities, add differentiated technology, integrate within 12 months, and bring talent.
What it means
Ad industry analysts predict Accenture, Adobe, Havas, Omnicom, OpenAI, Publicis, Stagwell, The Trade Desk, and Zeta Global will make strategic acquisitions to strengthen their marketing tech and data capabilities.
