March 29, 2021

Accenture to Acquire Cygni to Help Clients Accelerate Cloud First Strategies With Software Engineering Services

STOCKHOLM, Sweden; Mar. 29, 2021 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire Cygni, a cloud native full-stack development firm that helps companies transform their business through advanced technical software development services and innovative technical solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With experience across multiple industry sectors – from communications to utilities — and in digital-led projects for the national government, Cygni helps some of the country’s most recognized brands to transform digitally. Cygni will further enhance the global capabilities of Accenture Cloud First. Cygni has approximately 190 developers who provide a range of IT consulting and implementation services across the complete technology stack, including serverless and cloud.

Cygni was founded in 2006 and has been recognized by ’The Great Place To Work Foundation’ as the best workplace in Europe five times as well as the best workplace in Sweden for seven consecutive years.

“Today, there is no business leadership without technology leadership. Companies who use technology to master change will define the future,” said Karthik Narain, global lead of Accenture Cloud First. “Having Cygni’s talented team join Accenture Cloud First strengthens our ability to help clients use the cloud and technology innovation to act faster, operate sustainably, and deliver exceptional new experiences. Our new Cygni colleagues bring key skills to help clients master change in an era of compressed transformation.”

Left to Right: Joel Hofgren, Cloud Infrastructure & Engineering lead at Accenture together
with Jon Persson, CEO and founder of Cygni

Jon Persson, CEO and founder at Cygni, said, “Ever since Cygni was founded, we have had the vision to be the best place to work for highly skilled and ambitious software developers, which has been the foundation of our success. Now, it is time for the next chapter in our history. By joining Accenture, our people will get the opportunity to continue to grow even more as an integral part of Accenture Cloud First. Solving huge and challenging problems for local and global clients will create even more opportunities for our people to build their skills and experience.”

Joel Hofgren, Cloud Infrastructure & Engineering lead at Accenture Sweden, said, “We are delighted to welcome the Cygni team as they bring deep technical skills as well as a strong people culture. Modern software development capabilities are critical to unleashing the transformational power of cloud and adding the exceptional talents of the Cygni team will help propel us forward in realizing our Cloud First ambitions. We look forward to continue to build the best place to work together.”

With headquarters in Stockholm, Cygni has offices across Sweden including Gothenburg, Linkoping, Malmoe, Lulea and Ostersund, as well as an office in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Accenture recently announced the creation of Accenture Cloud First, a new multi-service group of 70,000 cloud professionals, and a $3 billion investment over three years to rapidly expand its cloud service capabilities and offerings. Accenture Cloud First integrates the company’s wide-ranging cloud expertise to help clients across every industry accelerate their digital transformation and realize greater value at speed and scale by rapidly becoming "cloud-first" businesses.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services – all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 537,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.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,” “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. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and Cygni 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 have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; Accenture’s results of operations have been, and may in the future 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 evolving 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 incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; 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 or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; 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 ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, 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; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; 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 might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce 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; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; 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; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable 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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Contact:

Anna Markelius
Accenture
+46 73 051 3452
anna.markelius@accenture.com

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