SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

LiveRamp™, an Acxiom^® company (NASDAQ: ACXM) and leading provider of omnichannel identity resolution, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Arbor and Circulate, two companies at the forefront of helping publishers connect people-based data to the marketing ecosystem.

The acquisitions increase the scale of LiveRamp’s omnichannel identity graph and network, enabling brands to expand people-based marketing beyond Google and Facebook while allowing publishers to better support marketers’ people-based initiatives. A recent industry study from Morar Research, “The State of People-Based Marketing,” revealed that while the majority of marketers take advantage of the people-based marketing capabilities Google and Facebook offer, an even greater number want to expand their targeted marketing strategies across additional publishers and channels, but struggle to do so.

“This is a big win for the entire LiveRamp ecosystem,” said Travis May, President and General Manager at LiveRamp. “The addition of Arbor and Circulate materially strengthens our network and allows us to deliver even greater value to our clients and partners. These acquisitions both increase our deterministic reach and give us the ability to help all publishers tap into people-based marketing budgets.”

The acquisitions double LiveRamp’s publisher partnerships to more than 450 and bring strong “mobile-first” technology, international reach, and impressive teams to LiveRamp. The Arbor and Circulate teams will lead the strategy for LiveRamp’s IdentityLink™ for Publishers offering.

In connection with the acquisition of Arbor and Circulate, Acxiom has issued a total of 768,710 inducement restricted stock unit (“RSU”) awards to approximately 40 newly hired, non-executive employees. The awards were approved by Acxiom’s board of directors and were granted as inducements to employment in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The Arbor inducement awards will vest over three years with 34% of the RSUs vesting on the one-year anniversary of the closing date of the Arbor merger and the remainder vesting in equal quarterly installments thereafter, subject to the employee’s continued service through each vesting date.

The Circulate inducement awards granted to certain key employees of Circulate will vest over two years with 50% of the RSUs vesting on the one-year anniversary of the closing date of the Circulate merger and the remainder vesting in equal quarterly installments thereafter, subject to the employee’s continued service through each vesting date. The Circulate inducement awards granted to all other Circulate employees will vest over four years with 25% of the RSUs vesting on the one-year anniversary of the closing date of the Circulate merger and the remainder vesting in equal annual installments thereafter, subject to the employee’s continued service through each vesting date.

All awards will be subject to the terms and conditions of Acxiom’s 2011 Nonqualified Equity Compensation Plan.

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp offers brands and the companies they work with identity resolution that is integrated throughout the digital ecosystem, and provides the foundation for omnichannel marketing. Our services transform the technology platforms used by our clients into people-based marketing channels that improve the relevancy of marketing, and ultimately allow consumers to better connect with the brands and products they love. LiveRamp is an Acxiom company, delivering privacy-safe solutions to market and honoring the best practices of leading associations including the Digital Advertising Alliance's (DAA) ICON and App Choices programs. For more information, visit www.liveramp.com.

About Acxiom

Acxiom provides the data foundation for the world’s best marketers. We enable people-based marketing everywhere through a simple, open approach to connecting systems and data that drives seamless customer experiences and higher ROI. A leader in identity and the ethical use of data for more than 45 years, Acxiom helps thousands of clients and partners around the globe work together to create a world where all marketing is relevant. For more information, visit www.acxiom.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161207006275/en/