Accenture Technology Ventures Joins e-millennium Fund

Joins Pan-European Network of Corporations to Back Fund; Fund to Focus on High-Growth Technologies

London, August 23, 2001 – Accenture Technology Ventures, the venture capital unit of Accenture, has joined the e-millennium1 fund, a new pan-European Venture Capital Fund. Other investors participating in e-millennium 1’s $183m fund include Deutsche Bank, Beisheim Holdings, La Caixa, SAP and BPI.

Accenture Technology Ventures joins e-millennium 1 and its investor group in deal generation, investment decisions and portfolio company roll-outs. Cherine Chalaby, Managing Partner of Accenture Technology Ventures in Europe, was named a supervisory board member of e-millennium 1. In addition, Dr. Bernd Venohr, a partner with Accenture Technology Ventures, will become a member of the e-millennium 1 investment committee.

The $183m investment fund has an investment horizon of five years, with target deal sizes between $4.5m and $9.1m. The main areas of focus for the fund will be in the technology, media and telecommunications industries. The fund managers will concentrate on opportunities with private companies in the expansion and later pre-IPO stages that have proven technologies and existing customers. e?millennium 1 will also target spin-offs of large corporations.

Commenting on the announcement, Bernd Venohr said, “The e-millennium 1 fund offers an opportunity for Accenture Technology Ventures to join other ‘blue chip’ investors to back emerging companies with funding and access to the insights that come from the members’ global scale, presence, and capabilities. In addition, we believe e-millennium 1 complements Accenture Technology Ventures’ focus on early stage funding, providing opportunities for later stage funding for a number of our portfolio companies.”

The e-millennium 1 fund was initiated in April 2000 with Deutsche Bank as the first investor and is based in Munich. The fund’s Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Tillmann Lauk, previously Divisional Board member for Corporate Strategy and Strategic Controlling at Deutsche Bank.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Lauk said, “We are delighted to welcome Accenture Technology Ventures as an investor in the e-millennium fund. Accenture Technology Ventures has invaluable experience and capabilities in the global VC market. In addition, with connections to Accenture’s global reach and capabilities, Accenture Technology Ventures will strengthen the fund’s network of participants to support the success of our portfolio companies.”

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 global portfolio is comprised of innovative companies that are building key components of tomorrow’s commerce infrastructure. 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.

About e-millennium 1
e-millennium 1 is a venture capital/private equity fund with an investment focus in the telecom, media and technology industries. Based on the advancement of the high speed/broadband transmission technologies, the strong increase in the digitalisation of content, in combination with ever higher processing speed and storage capacity, corporations in all sectors will be able to radically transform their internal supply chains and the way they interact with their customers and suppliers. This environment provides a multitude of opportunities for new ventures to provide technologically based products and services to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of established companies. e-millennium invests in ventures with first proof of business concept thereby focussing on post seed and expansion stage phases. e-millennium has a unique set of established and powerful investors with a high value contribution potential along all stages of the investment process.

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Ralf Miller

+ (06173) 94 66 378

Ralf.Miller@Accenture.com

Christian Staby

+49 89 25 55 85 53

Christian.staby@emillennium1.com