January 07, 2016

Accenture to Acquire Formicary, Expanding Its Expertise in Trading Services Transformation and OTC Markets Capabilities

LONDON; Jan. 7, 2016 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Formicary, a leading provider of consulting and systems integration services for trading platforms in the UK and North America. The acquisition will further strengthen Accenture’s capabilities in helping banks, asset managers, hedge funds and clearing organisations transform their trading technology platforms, enabling them to quickly and cost-efficiently adapt to market and regulatory change. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Formicary specialises in financial trading systems consulting, systems integration and migration, and IT services and software for over-the-counter (OTC) clearing, which includes implementations of industry-leading trading platforms such as Murex, Calypso and Misys Summit. The company helps capital markets firms revamp their trading platforms to reduce reliance on heavily customized, high-cost systems.

“Investment banks need to consider alternatives to costly, overly complex, bespoke trading systems, which are hindering their ability to be cost-efficient, compliant with the latest regulations and competitive in highly regulated and active markets,” said Owen Jelf, global managing director of Accenture’s Capital Markets practice. “With highly skilled professionals and deep market experience in everything from digital transformation to global regulatory compliance, Formicary will help us strengthen our trading services capabilities to help financial services firms become more competitive and adaptive to change in continuously evolving markets.”

Formicary was founded in 2000 and has offices in London, Toronto and New York. Its clients include tier-one investment banks, hedge funds, clearing houses and fund administrators. Through its full range of services – which include trading and risk platforms integration and migration, OTC clearing, custom development, managed services and bespoke software – Formicary helps clients maximize the potential and cost-effectiveness of proprietary and packaged software platforms to enhance their competitive advantage and streamline business operations.

“By combining our deep knowledge in trading technology with Accenture’s global strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations capabilities in capital markets, we offer our clients a strong scalable portfolio of services,” said Joseph Do, managing director at Formicary. “As significant cost pressures continue to force capital markets firms to re-evaluate their trading capabilities, our combined efforts will enable us to deliver large-scale digital transformations that can help them reduce costs while increasing the scale and profitability of their trading operations.”

This acquisition complements Accenture’s recent acquisition of Beacon Consulting. Together, they reinforce Accenture’s capital markets capabilities, bringing added industry depth and expertise.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing requirements.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About Formicary
Formicary is a niche IT consultancy specializing in systems integration for the financial services sector. Since inception 16 years ago, it has specialized in delivering integrated technology solutions that streamline business processes in the front, middle and back office for clients across the industry – from tier one investment banks to hedge funds and fund administrators. Formicary’s systems engineers and business analysts have industry experience covering trading and risk systems from proprietary applications to major third party system deployments. Formicary is a Murex SI Business Partner, Calypso Business and Service Partner. Formicary Ltd has offices in London, Toronto and New York servicing clients in Europe and North America.

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 Formicary 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; 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 does not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of performing its work or if the third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be less profitable than expected or unprofitable; the company’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; 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; the company’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; the company’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; the company might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; the company’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; changes in the company’s level of taxes, as well as 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; 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; adverse changes to the company’s relationships with key alliance partners or in the business of its key alliance partners could adversely affect the company’s results of operations; 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; if the company is unable to protect its intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or infringement by third parties, its business could be adversely affected; the company’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if the company is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; any changes to the estimates and assumptions that the company makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; 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; 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 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:

Damon Leavell
Accenture
+ 1 917 452 4083
damon.leavell@accenture.com

Petra Shuttlewood
Accenture
+ 44 7788 305373
petra.shuttlewood@accenture.com