Acquisition would bolster Accenture Cloud First services and skills in product management and agile transformation

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has announced its intent to acquire BENEXT, an independent product consulting company specializing in product management, agile coaching, cloud-based development and data science. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

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Accenture to acquire BENEXT. (Photo: Business Wire)

Founded in 2014 and based in France, BENEXT is a full-stack, product consulting company experienced in helping clients design, organize, deploy, and efficiently manage their digital products, while also enhancing the customer user experience. The company’s approximately 160 highly skilled professionals would join OCTO Technology, already a part of Accenture since 2017, and more broadly expand the European and global capabilities of Accenture Cloud First. OCTO Technology is a technology consultancy specializing in digital transformation and software development. The OCTO team is primarily located in France and also operates across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

"With many clients ramping up their multi-cloud environments, the need for new agile operating models and a seamless user experience across a multi-cloud network has never been greater. By tapping into the dynamic capabilities of the cloud, leading companies can reimagine their businesses from design to delivery,” said Karthik Narain, global lead, Accenture Cloud First. “Acquiring BENEXT would be a valuable addition to help more clients truly operate in the cloud and become digital enterprises. For clients, this ultimately equates to reaching a tipping point of change and pivoting the entirety of their business toward new opportunities.”

Powered by 77,000 cloud professionals and a $3 billion investment over the next three years, Accenture Cloud First brings together unmatched depth and breadth of cloud expertise, industry cloud solutions, ecosystem partner capabilities, and assets that help clients realize greater value from cloud at speed and scale. Over the past 24 months, Accenture has made a number of strategic investments to expand and enhance its Cloud First capabilities. In France, recent acquisitions include Linkbynet, Gekko, and Cirruseo.

Olivier Girard, market unit lead for Accenture France & Benelux, said “Together with BENEXT, we would bring more specialized skills to fulfill the growing demand for effective product management and agile methods by leveraging the use of the latest technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence, data and DevOps. The unique combination of our product management, organizational and technology skills would generate more value to the French market in particular for our clients in the public sector, financial services, and the media industry.”

David Robert, founder and president of BENEXT, said “We are excited about this opportunity based on our history and would accelerate our strategy. The combination of our two organizations’ expertise allied with our deep product management expertise would enable us to take the services offered to our clients to a whole new level. Together, we can help clients reimagine their products, reengineer their product life cycles and optimize their customers’ experiences.”

The acquisition requires prior consultation with the relevant works councils and would be subject to customary closing conditions.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 569,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and BENEXT will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture’s results of operations have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; Accenture’s results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders’ ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

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