Kantar closes Numerator acquisition
Kantar, a global market data and consulting firm, this week completed its acquisition of Numerator, a Chicago-based consumer and market intelligence company. Though financial terms were not released, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the deal is valued at $1.5 billion.
Numerator offers proprietary data – including a digital panel of more than one million US consumers – as well as advanced technology to help companies understand customers in real time and identify opportunities for growth.
The firm has worked with the majority of Fortune 100 companies. Numerator has approximately 2,400 employees across 10 offices in the US, Canada, India, and Australia.
The deal, which was announced in April, strengthens Kantar’s Worldpanel division with shopper insights for the US and Canada. Worldpanel previously had shopper insights in more than 45 countries outside North America. The combined data set provides insight into the shopping habits of more than five billion consumers globally.
“At Kantar we combine consumer insights with advanced analytics to help brands make better business decisions. Understanding actual shopper behavior is at the heart of that,” said Ian Griffiths, Kantar’s deputy CEO and CFO. “We identified Numerator for its tech-first platform and geographic compatibility with Kantar. With the backing of our shareholders at Bain Capital & 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.”
The transaction is the largest acquisition since Bain Capital acquired a 60% stake of Kantar in 2019. Former majority owner WPP continues to hold 40% of the firm.
The deal represents a reinforced focus on data and analytics, allowing Kantar to better compete with rival companies like Nielsen. The firm also last year acquired Mavens of London, a data-driven marketing consultancy.
Kantar has, however, offloaded assets in other areas. The consultancy in January sold its paid search solution AdGooroo to Adthena and in December sold its global health division to Cerner. The company slimmed down its global employee headcount from 30,000 in 2020 to approximately 25,000 people prior to the Numerator deal.
