LiveRamp Shareholders Approve $2.2 Billion Publicis Deal, Reject Executive Payout

Ad holding company Publicis Groupe's plan to acquire data collaboration platform LiveRamp won overwhelming shareholder approval in a vote held Monday. Ninety-two percent of shares voted backed the deal, with less than 1% opposed — a key step toward closing the $2.2 billion transaction.

Once the deal closes, LiveRamp will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Publicis — heightening broader market concerns about LiveRamp's status as a neutral platform. Publicis rival Omnicom has already begun distancing itself from LiveRamp since the deal was announced, while Havas has said it will keep the platform open to its clients.

For Arthur Sadoun, the 55-year-old who has served as Publicis Groupe's CEO since 2017, the acquisition is the largest deal of his tenure since the $4.4 billion purchase of data company Epsilon in 2019.

Shareholders, however, did not approve the executive payout package tied to the deal. By a vote of 44.3 million shares against to 7.3 million in favor, they rejected the so-called "golden parachute" agreement, which called for a combined $82.6 million payout to five senior LiveRamp executives if they were terminated without cause after the deal closes. That vote doesn't block or unwind the deal itself, though — the payments could theoretically still be made, since the terms are already written into the contract.

Shareholders also re-elected three sitting directors to LiveRamp's board: CEO Scott Howe, former DocuSign executive Vivian Chou, and GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan. Both Publicis and LiveRamp declined to comment before publication.