Accenture Completes Acquisition of Ariba’s Sourcing Services and Business Process Outsourcing Assets
NEW YORK; Nov. 16, 2010 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed its acquisition of the sourcing services and business process outsourcing (BPO) services assets of Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA), strengthening Accenture’s position as a leading provider of sourcing and procurement consulting and outsourcing services.
The acquisition of these assets, which include Ariba’s direct and indirect category expertise, sourcing process expertise and strategic sourcing execution resources, will enable Accenture to provide clients with deeper category expertise, enhanced highly scalable global sourcing service delivery operations and proprietary sourcing databases, benchmarks and technologies.
Approximately 160 Ariba employees from various locations around the world are expected to join Accenture as a result of the acquisition.
“As a current leader in procurement and supply chain BPO, and supply chain management consulting, Accenture sees this acquisition as an opportunity to extend and further differentiate our offering in the marketplace,” said Mike Salvino, group chief executive, BPO, Accenture. “We’ve strengthened our ability to provide sourcing savings across a broader range of categories as well as business insight and analytics which help our clients achieve high performance in procurement. “
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 204,000 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$21.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2010. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
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Accenture Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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: we might not achieve the anticipated benefits from the acquisition of Ariba’s sourcing services assets; our results of operations could be adversely affected by economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on our clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; the pricing environment continues to remain competitive, and our profitability may suffer if we are not able to improve our pricing and maintain favorable utilization rates; our profitability may suffer if we cannot anticipate the cost and complexity of performing our work or if we are not able to control our costs; our business and financial results may be adversely affected if we are unable to keep our supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand, including if we are unable to hire sufficient employees with the skills and background where they are needed; our results of operations could be negatively affected if we cannot expand and develop our services and solutions in response to changes in technology and client demand; the consulting, systems integration and technology and outsourcing markets are highly competitive and we might not be able to compete effectively; our revenues, revenue growth and earnings in U.S. dollars may be lower if the U.S. dollar strengthens against other currencies, particularly the Euro and British pound; our work with government clients exposes us to additional risks in the government contracting environment; clients may not be satisfied with our services; our results of operations could be adversely affected if our clients terminate their contracts with us; our outsourcing services subject us to operational and financial risk; our results of operations may be adversely affected by the type and level of technology spending by our clients; our business could be negatively affected by legal liability that results from our providing solutions or services; our global operations, including our global delivery network, are subject to complex risks, some of which might be beyond our control; liabilities could arise if our subcontractors or other third parties cannot deliver their project contributions on time or at all; legislative or regulatory action could materially and adversely affect us; we may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to our incorporation in Ireland; we might be unable to achieve our business objectives if we are unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with our size; consolidation in the industries that we serve could adversely affect our business; our ability to attract and retain business may depend on our reputation in the marketplace; our share price could fluctuate due to numerous factors, including variability in revenues, operating results and profitability; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in our 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.