Following the acquisition, the Acxiom brand name will become part of IPG’s portfolio. The deal does not include Acxiom’s LiveRamp business.

AMS will remain as a standalone unit within IPG’S media agency network Mediabrands. Dennis Self and Rick Erwin will continue to serve as co-presidents of AMS, reporting to IPG chief data and marketing technology officer Arun Kumar.

As part of the deal, Acxiom’s 2,100 employees will work for IPG.

Howe said: "Acxiom Marketing Solutions is a strong business with deep expertise in data-driven marketing, talented associates and a client roster that includes many of the world’s leading companies. After careful consideration of a variety of options and potential partners, it became clear that a sale of AMS to IPG, with its scale and breadth of complementary services, represented the best possible path forward for our clients and associates."

Michael Roth, chairman and chief executive at IPG (pictured), said: "The powerful combination of IPG and Acxiom Marketing Solutions is a game changer for the industry, and we believe it will drive meaningful value for both our clients and shareholders. Over the last year of working closely with AMS to power our AMP data platform, we’ve seen that our cultures are a great fit, and we are very excited to welcome them to IPG."

On completion of the transaction, Acxiom intends to rename itself LiveRamp, the company said in a statement. Chief executive Scott Howe and chief financial officer Warren Jenson will remain in their current roles at the company, which will be headquartered in San Francisco.

The agreement been approved by the two companies’ boards of directors, with the transaction expected to close by the end of 2018, subject to stockholder and regulatory approval.