September 08, 2016

Accenture to Acquire New Energy Group to Further Expand its Salesforce Capabilities for Clients, Accelerate its Cloud First Agenda

Move will reinforce Accenture as a leading provider in Salesforce capabilities and enterprise cloud services in Italy and Spain

New York; Sept. 8, 2016 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire New Energy Group, an Italy-based company specializing in Salesforce solutions. The move solidifies Accenture as a leading provider of Salesforce capabilities in Italy and Spain and strengthens the company’s overall global footprint, market-leading technology capabilities and deep industry experience. Through its Cloud First agenda, Accenture is the leading provider of end-to-end, high-standard cloud strategy and technology consulting, as well as cloud application implementation, integration and management services for enterprise clients.

Once the acquisition is completed, New Energy Group’s professionals will join the Accenture Cloud First Applications team, which delivers cloud services for Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, Google, Pegasystems and other “pure play” cloud technologies. As part of the deal, Accenture will acquire all New Energy branded organizations including the New Energy Salesforce services team in Italy, the New Energy Salesforce services Aborda team in Spain and the digital services team Mind in Italy. In addition, Accenture will also acquire Bit2win, New Energy’s suite of products and solutions based on Salesforce. Bit2win enables companies to transform their front office with simple, agile and digitally-enabled sales solutions.

“We continue to invest in our Cloud First agenda and expand our capabilities in Europe, as evidenced by our agreement to acquire New Energy Group, which will reinforce Accenture’s position as a leading provider of Salesforce capabilities in Italy and Spain,” said Saideep Raj, Managing Director, Cloud First Applications, Accenture. “By integrating New Energy Group’s people and assets with ours, we will grow the best cloud talent in Europe and around the world to provide clients with unmatched cloud services and digital capabilities. As a result of this acquisition, Accenture will continue to lead in the new era of service delivery and flexibility, where applications, infrastructure and business processes are brought together and delivered As-a-Service.”

Accenture continues to grow and strengthen its position as a leading enterprise cloud services provider. Accenture was one of the first global companies to establish a strategic alliance partnership with Salesforce and today has leading capabilities in Salesforce with more than 3,700 unique certified professionals. Upon close and after combining with New Energy Group, Accenture will add to its global team another 200 certified professionals from Italy and Spain, with more than 300 Salesforce certifications.

“We are proud to be joining Accenture and combining our skills and innovative approach with the global scale of Accenture. Our focus on cloud and digital transformation will be empowered and will offer our clients unmatched opportunities to realize the full potential of the ‘As-a-Service’ economy. Our Bit2win software suite will be enhanced by Accenture’s industry expertise and its global investment and network of businesses,” said Giuseppe Mammola, chief executive officer, New Energy Group. “We have always been excited by change and now we are joining forces with Accenture for a new challenge – to provide leading and innovative solutions in a cloud world.”

In October 2015, Accenture acquired Cloud Sherpas, a leader in cloud advisory and technology services specializing in Google, Salesforce and ServiceNow, in the US and CRMWaypoint in the Netherlands in January 2016, which followed previously acquired Salesforce solution providers, Tquila UK and ClientHouse the previous year.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Completion of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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 more than 375,000 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.

Accenture is a leader in helping organizations move to the cloud to take advantage of a new era of service delivery and flexibility, where applications, infrastructure and business processes are brought together and delivered As-a-Service. Accenture’s Cloud First agenda offers comprehensive, industry-focused cloud services including strategy, implementation, migration and managed services, and assets including the Accenture Cloud Platform that can drive broader transformational programs for clients. Accenture has worked on over 20,000 cloud computing projects for clients, including three-quarters of the Fortune Global 100, and has more than 21,000 professionals trained in cloud computing.

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 New Energy Group 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:

Alexander Aizenberg
Accenture
+ 1 917 452 9878
alexander.aizenberg@accenture.com

Armando Barone
Accenture
+ 39 3485608969
armando.barone@accenture.com