The deal, which was first announced in April 2021, will see Numerator remain as a standalone business in the short term, but in the long term it will support Kantar’s Worldpanel division and US Ad Intelligence business.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but it is believed to be worth just under $1.5bn.

The acquisition of Numerator will increase Kantar’s presence in the US and Canada, and the two companies’ combined datasets will cover the shopping habits of almost five billion people worldwide.

Ian Griffiths (pictured), deputy chief executive and chief financial officer at Kantar, said: “We identified Numerator for its tech-first platform and geographic compatibility with Kantar.

“With the backing of our shareholders at Bain Capital and WPP, our investment in Numerator illustrates our commitment to ensuring we offer the most comprehensive and insightful views of how consumers think, feel and act around the world.”

Eric Belcher, chief executive of Numerator, said: “Kantar is the ideal company for Numerator to join forces with given our complementary geographies, technologies and data science capabilities.

“On top of that, we're pleased to have Bain Capital’s commitment to providing their extensive resources in support of our plans to continue to lead the industry in innovation.”