Publicis in talks to buy Sapient

[WASHINGTON] French advertising agency Publicis Groupe is in talks to buy American firm Sapient Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The deal could be announced as soon as Monday but there still is a chance talks will fail, the report said.

Neither Publicis nor Boston-based Sapient - which boasts a market capitalisation of some US$2.5 billion - was immediately available for comment.

Publicis, the world number-three advertising giant, is believed to be keen to speed its overhaul into a digital technology firm. Sapient is a digital advertising heavyweight.

The French firm earlier tried unsuccessfully to merge with Omnicom, the American number-two in the global ad industry.

AFP