October 11, 2019

Accenture Interactive Announces Intent to Acquire French Data Marketing Firm Sutter Mills

Expanding its capabilities in data-driven marketing strategy, adtech and martech would strengthen Accenture Interactive’s ability to help brands deliver hyper-relevant experiences at scale

PARIS; Oct. 11, 2019 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Sutter Mills, a French firm that specializes in developing and executing data-driven marketing strategies for clients. The acquisition requires prior consultation with the relevant works councils and would be subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

The acquisition would strengthen Accenture Interactive’s ability to help brands, in France and throughout Europe, to leverage data to deploy innovative marketing strategies. The combination of Sutter Mills’ and Accenture Interactive’s expertise would enable companies to create hyper-relevant experiences at scale across all customer touchpoints.

Headquartered in Paris, Sutter Mills works with some of the most well-known French and European companies across various industries, including luxury goods, automotive and financial services, helping them develop more engaging relationships with their customers. The firm provides consulting and implementation services that enable clients to improve customer insights, increase the efficiency of their marketing strategies, and drive higher returns on their marketing investments. Sutter Mills has expertise in all major martech and adtech platforms, as well as deep expertise in implementing the technical infrastructures required to create hyper-relevant experiences.

“The acquisition of Sutter Mills would be a key step in our growth strategy,” said Olivier Girard, country managing director of Accenture in France and Benelux. “Its expertise, combined with Accenture Interactive’s leading capabilities in experience design and digital commerce, would further our ability to provide clients with the services they demand to support their evolving growth agendas. By helping companies better exploit data to create hyper-personalized interactions that influence consumers’ buying decisions while enabling them to measure the return on their marketing investments, we can give chief marketing officers the tools needed to demonstrate their contribution to their companies’ growth.”

Claude Chaffiotte, head of Accenture Interactive in France and Benelux, added, “New growth engines are driven by a company’s ability to create experiences that are unique to each of potentially millions of customers. This requires capturing and responding to customers’ expectations in near real-time, with personalized messages delivered through relevant media. Sutter Mills’s mastery of data, adtech and martech would enhance our ability to provide clients with these hyper-relevant experiences, enabling us to even better support our clients in achieving their growth objectives.”

Sutter Mills founders Guillame Cardon, Oliver Mazeron and Xavier Cardon, said, “We created Sutter Mills to be a key business partner for companies by combining a deep understanding of their strategic business issues with strong expertise in adtech, martech, data analysis and artificial intelligence. The mastery of these domains is the reason why many brands have relied on us to support them in defining and executing their marketing strategies. Joining Accenture Interactive would be a fantastic opportunity for our teams to develop their expertise on larger scale and global initiatives, and we are excited about the new opportunities it would bring.”

Sutter Mills would mark the second acquisition made by Accenture Interactive in France, following the 2017 acquisition of French digital commerce agency Altima. It would also represent Accenture’s overall fifth acquisition in France in four years, following the acquisitions of OCTO Technology in 2016, Arismore and the aforementioned Altima in 2017, and Cirruseo in 2019.

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 492,000 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 Interactive helps the world’s leading brands transform their customer experiences across the entire customer journey. Through our connected offerings in design, marketing, content and commerce, we create new ways to win in today’s experience-led economy. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world’s largest digital agency in the latest Ad Age Agency Report for the fourth year in a row, and was named a 2019 Most Innovative Company in Advertising by Fast Company. To learn more, follow us @AccentureSong and visit www.accentureinteractive.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,” “would,” “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: Accenture and Sutter Mills 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 could 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 changing 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 breaches or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; 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 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; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, 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; 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’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; 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 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; 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; many of Accenture’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; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favourable 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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Contacts:

Francois Luu
Accenture
+33 6 60 53 84 28
francois.luu@accenture.com

David LaBar
Accenture
+1 646 456 4505
david.labar@accenture.com


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