On Sunday, #PublicisGroupe announced that it will acquire #LiveRamp for $2.2 billion in an all-cash deal. LiveRamp will continue to operate independently and work with its current clients, which include Publicis competitors, like #Havas Media—though it remains to be seen if those competitors will want to continue working with LiveRamp. The data collaboration company has historically positioned itself as “neutral,” with CEOS Scott Howe calling it the “Switzerland” of the industry. Both parties claim that Liveramp will “continue to operate as a neutral, interoperable platform,” but whether LiveRamp retains that reputation is a big question. Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun sees the LiveRamp deal as the holdco’s next major bet on the future of the industry. Meanwhile, many of #Publicis’ biggest competitors, including #WPP, #Omnicom, and #Dentsu, are divesting of their assets at this time, not acquiring more.