October 03, 2013

Accenture to Acquire Procurian Inc., Expanding Its Leading Capabilities in Procurement Business Process Outsourcing

NEW YORK; Oct. 3, 2013 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire Procurian, a leading provider of procurement business process solutions. The acquisition will further enhance Accenture’s capabilities in procurement business process outsourcing (BPO) across a range of industries including consumer goods, high-tech and financial services and will add key analytics capabilities and technology assets.

Accenture has agreed to pay US$375 million in cash for Procurian, subject to certain adjustments at closing, including for working capital, cash, debt and other items.

“This acquisition will further strengthen Accenture’s industry-leading capability in procurement BPO," said Mike Salvino, Accenture’s group chief executive for BPO. “The addition of Procurian’s deep strategic sourcing category expertise, advanced analytics capabilities and delivery resources will complement and scale our already-significant sourcing and procurement business services. As a result Accenture will be even better positioned to provide clients around the world with 4th- and 5th-generation BPO procurement services to drive real and sustainable business outcomes.”

Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa., Procurian is one of the leading procurement BPO providers globally. Procurian focuses on delivering strategic sourcing business process services to the Global 2000. The company has delivery locations in the United States, India, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, China and Brazil. Procurian is a subsidiary of ICG Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGE).

Procurian’s approximately 780 employees are expected to join Accenture in connection with the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2013, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

“This agreement with Accenture will benefit clients of both of our companies, providing global capabilities and scale along with a significant depth and breadth of category and industry expertise,” said Carl Guarino, CEO of Procurian. “We share a passion for helping clients achieve business outcomes through higher-value sourcing and procurement solutions.”

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is 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. These include, without limitation, risks that: the company and Procurian 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 the company; the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; the company’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such demand could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if the company 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; the markets in which the company competes are highly competitive, and the company might not be able to compete effectively; the company could have liability or the company’s reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if the company’s information systems are breached; the company’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; as a result of the company’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; the company’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; the company’s results of operations could materially suffer if the company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet its profitability expectations; if the company’s pricing estimates do not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of the company performing its work or third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be unprofitable; the company’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; the company’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability in connection with providing its services and solutions; the company’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company’s alliance relationships may not be successful or may change, which could adversely affect the company’s results of operations; outsourcing services and the continued expansion of the company’s other services and solutions into new areas subject the company to different operational risks than its consulting and systems integration services; the company’s services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company might lose its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others; the company has only a limited ability to protect its intellectual property rights, which are important to the company’s success; the company’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; the company might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating businesses or entering into joint ventures; the company’s profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and the company may not be able to improve its profitability through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past; many of the company’s contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company’s revenues and impact its margins; changes in the company’s level of taxes, and audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in the company’s treatment as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s results of operations and financial condition; if the company is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if the company is unable to collect its receivables or unbilled services, the company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected; the company’s share price and results of operations could fluctuate and be difficult to predict; the company’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; the company 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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Contact:

Peter Y. Soh
Accenture
+ 703 947 2571
peter.y.soh@accenture.com