June 23, 2015

Accenture Expands Digital Commerce Capabilities in the Nordics with Acquisition of Brightstep

Further bolsters the capabilities of Accenture Interactive in Europe to deliver digital commerce solutions to clients using Intershop, hybris and Adobe technologies

STOCKHOLM, Sweden; June 23, 2015 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired Brightstep, a Swedish digital consulting company specializing in digital content and commerce solutions, strengthening its digital marketing and commerce services provided through Accenture Interactive. As a result of the acquisition, Accenture clients will have access to a greater number of professionals trained in leading digital commerce solutions from Intershop, hybris software and Adobe. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Brightstep, now part of Accenture Interactive, is a digital consulting company with strong capabilities including digital strategy, commerce, content and interactive marketing, employing more than 60 people. The company also provides services for digital platform selection, development, implementation and maintenance delivered to companies in the retail, fashion, telecommunications and resources industries. Brightstep is a global Intershop Platinum Partner, a hybris Gold Partner and boasts one of the largest workforces of hybris-trained professionals in the Nordics. The company also delivers consulting and implementation work to clients around Adobe Marketing Cloud solutions, including Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics and Adobe Target.

“We’re seeing many European companies across industries including retailers and industrial equipment manufacturers ramping up their investments in digital content and commerce and they’re looking for us to help them transform the digital customer experience,” said Anatoly Roytman, managing director, Accenture Interactive, Europe, Africa, Latin America and global digital commerce lead. “With the acquisition of Brightstep, we’re expanding our end-to-end capabilities to help clients develop the digital content and commerce strategies and platforms they need to provide supreme brand and buying experiences to customers.”

Karl Moberg, CEO and co-founder of Brightstep, said, “Over the past 14 years, we’ve built an exceptionally strong team at Brightstep and we’re proud to join Accenture, a recognized global leader for digital services. Our combined expertise will allow us to deliver transformational digital commerce solutions to even more organizations. As part of Accenture Interactive, we can now provide our existing clients with digital marketing, commerce and content services at global scale and with even broader in-depth industry experience.”

The two Brightstep founders: Karl Moberg, CEO (l.) & Mattias Pihlström, Co-CEO (r.)

Brightstep, founded in 2001 and based in Stockholm, Sweden, is the most recent in a series of acquisitions that have strengthened and expanded Accenture Interactive’s end-to-end consulting and technology services for brand leaders and chief marketing officers globally. Earlier this year, Accenture completed the acquisition of Reactive Media Pty Ltd, one of Australia’s largest independent digital agencies. In 2013, Accenture acquired Fjord, a design and innovation agency with presences in Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. Also in 2013, Accenture acquired Acquity Group, adding significant skills and scale in omni-channel commerce services and leading digital platforms, such as hybris and Adobe, in the U.S. Reactive, Fjord and Acquity Group are all part of Accenture Interactive.

The acquisition of Brightstep is another in a series of moves Accenture Interactive has taken this year to strengthen its digital marketing and commerce capabilities. In May, it opened the Accenture Interactive Innovation Center in Sophia Antipolis, France, which provides leading brands an environment to experience the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on customer service, marketing campaigns and the entire customer experience. In March, Accenture and Adobe launched Accenture Customer Engagement, a cloud-based managed service under a pay-per-use model that simplifies the development, execution and measurement of digital marketing to drive marketing ROI. Adobe also recognized Accenture as EMEA Digital Marketing Partner of the Year for the third consecutive year. Similarly, Accenture was named Global Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year by hybris.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 323,000 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$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture Digital, helps the world’s leading brands drive superior marketing performance across the full multichannel customer experience. Accenture Interactive offers integrated, industrialized and industry-driven digital transformation and marketing solutions. To learn more follow us @AccentureSocial and visit www.accenture.com/interactive.

Forward-Looking Statements
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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; 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; if the company is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; the company’s share price and results of operations could fluctuate and be difficult to predict; the company’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; 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; 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. 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Contacts:

Jens R. Derksen
Accenture
+ 49 175 5761393
jens.derksen@accenture.com

Anna Markelius
Accenture
+ 46 73051 3452
anna.markelius@accenture.com