San Francisco, California - August 20, 2001 – Accenture, the leading global management and technology consulting organization, announced it had acquired the business of Epylon Corporation, a provider of hosted eProcurement solutions for government and education institutions.
Epylon will be an Accenture affiliate company, 100 percent owned by the global management and technology company. The acquisition was completed shortly before Accenture’s initial public offering last month. The company, with revenues of approximately $4 million in its last fiscal year, will continue to operate under the Epylon name. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Epylon’s senior management team and all of Epylon’s employees were offered continued employment with the company.
Jay Mohr of Accenture will join Epylon as Acting Chief Executive Officer. Mohr is a partner and entrepreneur in residence with Accenture Technology Ventures. Mohr joined Accenture in 1977, and has been a partner since 1988 and will remain a partner with the firm while working at Epylon.
“Through Accenture Technology Ventures, we were early investors in Epylon. We saw great potential for the company, ” said Mohr. “We are pleased that Epylon’s working relationship with Accenture grew to the point where this acquisition could be seamless. Epylon will provide Accenture with software its clients need to make transformational business changes in their purchasing programs”
“We worked closely with Accenture to bring the benefits of eProcurement to public sector clients and have always enjoyed a productive, creative and professional relationship, “ said Stephen J. George, Epylon’s founder. “Accenture was the logical company for us to sell to and we are extremely optimistic about this new chapter in Epylon’s life.”
“This acquisition makes it possible for Epylon to maintain its leadership in the highly competitive eGovernment marketplace,” said Mohr “We will build on the foundation that Epylon’s team has created by adding Accenture’s market insights and management skills, to create a new Epylon.”
“eProcurement is a fast growing trend among governments because it offers them a rapid return on their investment,” said David E. Wilkins, Accenture government partner for ventures and new business models. “Epylon’s innovations in the eProcurement market are an excellent fit with Accenture’s efforts to build eGovernment solutions around the world. “
Epylon’s eProcurement Solution
Epylon streamlines the procurement process for the public sector buying community. Using simple, automated, online features for research, approvals, purchasing and reporting, Epylon enables public sector agencies to increase purchasing and process efficiencies, reduce operating costs, electronically access their supplier base, and continue to meet audit and reporting requirements.
There are more than 450 active school districts and government agencies using the Epylon solution today.
The Epylon Supplier Network is a national aggregated base of more than 1,600 suppliers such as Compaq, Office Depot, Grainger, Boise Cascade, Xerox, and Wesco. Participation in the Epylon Supplier Network provides suppliers of all sizes with access to a national audience of pubic sector buyers and the opportunity to expand market share. Epylon also offers suppliers the ability to receive standardized electronic orders, manage complex bidding opportunities and migrate customer service functions online to reduce the overall cost of sales.
Two Companies Worked Together
Accenture is also deploying the Epylon eProcurement solution, powered by Ariba® Buyer™ 7.0 in North Carolina giving the state ease of access to an expanded supplier base for competitive pricing and product information, while aggregating its purchasing to negotiate prices on the basis of economies of scale.
Epylon and Accenture deployed “MiBuy,” a tailored version of Epylon’s procurement solution for the state of Michigan. The new procurement system was deployed in less than 60 days, with 50 users from four state agencies including the Department of State, Michigan State Police, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Management and Budget.
Others turning to Accenture for eGovernment work in a variety of areas, include: Delaware, Massachusetts, New York City, Wyoming, Ireland’s Revenue Commission, Singapore, the Australian Tax Office, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
About Accenture
Accenture is the world’s leading provider of management and technology consulting services and solutions, with more than 75,000 people in 46 countries delivering a wide range of specialized capabilities and solutions to clients across all industries. Accenture operates globally with one common brand and business model designed to enable the company to serve its clients on a consistent basis around the world. Under its strategy, Accenture is building a network of businesses to meet the full range of any organization’s needs — consulting, technology, outsourcing, alliances and venture capital. The company generated revenues before reimbursements of $9.75 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2000, and $8.67 billion for the nine months ended May 31, 2001. Its home page is http://www.accenture.com.
About Accenture Technology Ventures
Accenture Technology Ventures, helps talented entrepreneurs build companies that can transform entire industries, create new markets and ultimately generate superior economic returns. Our portfolio includes more than 70 innovative companies that are building key components of tomorrow’s infrastructure and improving the way the world works and lives. Launched in December 1999, Accenture Technology Ventures is the venture capital unit of Accenture, the world’s leading provider of management and technology consulting services and solutions. Its home page address is http://www.accenturetechventures.com.
About Epylon Corporation
Epylon Corporation is a leading provider of eProcurement software and services for government and education institutions. Epylon provides a tailored eProcurement solution that includes technology designed around the public sector’s unique operating and workflow environment. Epylon also offers value-added services such as supplier adoption and enablement, hosting, contract and catalog loading, and customer support. Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., Epylon can be found on the Web at www.epylon.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.