PARIS, FRANCE — Creative agency Publicis Groupe has acquired Practia, one of Latin America’s leading independent technology companies and provider of digital business transformation services. Practia will become part of Publicis Sapient, Publicis Groupe’s digital business transformation company.
Founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1995, Practia has worked over the last 28 years with a large and diverse portfolio of more than 1,000 clients, across a range of industries from retail and telecommunications to healthcare and financial services, in its efforts to transform their digital strategies. With offices in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Spain, a business presence in Uruguay and the US, and an impressive team of 1,200 across product, experience, engineering, and data & AI, Practia brings high-demand skills in key geographic locations that will further strengthen Publicis Sapient’s global offerings on behalf of its clients.
The acquisition will position Publicis Sapient to enter the Latin America market, one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for digital business transformation. It will also establish a foundation for a nearshore delivery platform that will enable the company to better serve clients based in North America. With existing global delivery centers in India and Eastern Europe, Publicis Sapient will add Latin America as its third major global delivery center.
“In light of the growing demand for digital business transformation, Publicis Groupe is scaling its expertise in Latin America to better serve its clients and help them win in commerce,” said Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. “The addition of Practia will enable Publicis Sapient to break into Latin America and further grow its geographic footprint, as well as expand its digital business transformation capabilities and globally distributed delivery model.”
“The addition of Practia marks our exciting entry into a new market and one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for digital business transformation. It will also create a nearshore delivery platform that will allow us to better serve our clients in North America,” said Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient. “Practia’s strong leadership team, vision, deep expertise and impressive client roster, coupled with the cultural synergies between our two organizations, will enable Publicis Sapient to drive even greater impact for existing clients and attract new business as we scale.”
“Over the last 28 years, we have been at the forefront of the digital business transformation for enterprises across Latin America. Leveraging our deep roots in software engineering and our management’s industry expertise and strong academic background, we have increased our portfolio offerings, grown our professional team, and expanded our geographic footprint in the Americas,” said Nelson Sprejer, Co-Founder and Board Member of Practia. “Joining forces with Publicis Sapient will help propel our combined organizations forward as we target some of the most important challenges facing our clients today.”
According to SPER Market Research, Latin America is one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for digital business transformation. The Latin America Digital Transformation Market is estimated to reach US $207.87 billion by 2032 with a CAGR of 15.13%. The growth of the digital business transformation market in LATAM is driven by several factors, including the increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions, rising demand for automation and artificial intelligence, and the growth of ecommerce and digital marketing.
The closing of the transaction is subject to conditions customary in transactions of this nature.
