Tech to the fore as Publicis lines up Xebia and Dentsu Switzerland’s Namics

Arthur Sadoun’s Publicis Groupe is planning to buy Xebia France, a mid-sized consulting firm, to combine with existing consultancy operation Publicis.Sapient.

Xebia France employs 170 people – the so-called “Xebians” – and works for established clients Axa, Air France and BNP Paribas as well as numerous start-ups. It also runs the annual XebiCon event for developers, tech leads and CTOs. Xebia France is headed by CEO Luc Legardeur.

He says: “We are certain that joining the forces of a globally renowned group such as Publicis and a firm specialising in new technologies creates a unique and valuable offer in the French market to help our customers proceed with their necessary digital transformation. We would be very proud to be part of the Digital Business Transformation strategy of Publicis.Sapient and inspired by the prospects of such a collaboration.” The deal is subject to consultation with Xebia staff bodies.

At the same time Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has agreed a deal to buy Namics, a big full-service digital agency in Switzerland and Germany. Namics employs 550 people and will be aligned with DAN’s performance marketing agency Merkle, increasingly the engine room of the media-based group.

Namics CEO Bernd Schopp says: “Becoming part of Merkle and Dentsu Aegis Network is a fantastic opportunity for Namics as we have a shared vision of helping clients become winners in digital transformation. Our customer advocacy approach to delivering digital marketing, communication and commerce solutions will be further strengthened by Merkle’s data, analytics and CRM capabilities.”