Publicis Groupe has entered into a deal to acquire Tremend, one of the fastest-growing and largest independent software engineering companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction remains subject to customary approvals by the relevant competition authority.
Tremend currently reaches 60 million of its clients’ end users with its technology and will serve as the newest global delivery center for Publicis Sapient, the digital transformation company billed as offering the next generation of marketing services to clients.
Based in Bucharest, Romania, Tremend was founded in 2005 by Ioan Cocan and Marius Hanganu, and serves a large and diverse client base that includes companies such as Carrefour, ING and Orange. With over 16 years of experience in product engineering, Tremend has a talent base of some 650 software engineers and has implemented major projects for leading companies in industries such as finance, telecom, banking, automotive and public services. Among its products is a customer experience platform as well as an AI-enabled telemedicine platform.
“We’re impressed with the Tremend team’s vision, the breadth of its skillset and capabilities around agile engineering and its deep industry expertise. Bringing Tremend into Publicis Sapient is a powerful expansion of our global distributed delivery model and we expect to rapidly grow headcount to 2,500 people by 2025 as well as our geographic footprint in the region,” said Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient. “We’re also excited by the strong cultural match between the two organizations and look forward to driving even more client impact together.”
In a joint statement, Tremend founders Cocan and Hanganu shared, “At Tremend, our purpose has always been to engineer the best products through our amazing team for our partners and to better manage disruptions, accelerate growth and add new value to their brands in today’s rapidly changing world. Joining forces with Publicis Sapient will help propel our combined organization forward during a time when our clients are calling upon us for some of the most important and challenging initiatives to date.”
Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, stated, “In a context of growing demand for digital business transformation, Publicis Groupe is scaling its expertise in Europe to better serve its clients and help them win in commerce. The addition of Tremend will expand Publicis Sapient’s agile engineering capabilities and diversify its geographic footprint. After the innovative joint venture launched with SCB in December in Southeast Asia, this is a new step in the international expansion of Publicis Sapient.”
