September 22, 2016

Accenture to Acquire Kurt Salmon to Expand Accenture Strategy’s Capabilities in the Retail Industry

NEW YORK; Sept. 22, 2016 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire Kurt Salmon, a leading global strategy consulting firm focused on the retail industry and a subsidiary of Management Consulting Group. The acquisition will expand Accenture Strategy’s capabilities in delivering end-to-end strategy consulting services to top retailers and private equity firms in a world disrupted by digital.

Completion is subject to regulatory approvals, approval of the transaction by Management Consulting Group’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

Founded in 1935, Kurt Salmon has more than 260 employees serving clients across the world, and offices in the U.S., Germany, UK, Japan and China. The company is known for operational strategy consulting, including logistics and supply chain, merchandising and product development, corporate strategy and due diligence, and omni-channel retail strategy.

“With digital disruption forcing retailers to rethink their entire business and operating models, we expect continued strong demand for strategy consulting services in this industry,” said Mark Knickrehm, chief executive officer, Accenture Strategy. “This acquisition will enhance our ability to deliver the industry-specific strategies that our clients are increasingly seeking, in order to drive competitiveness and operational excellence at the intersection of business and technology.”

Chris Donnelly, retail industry lead, Accenture Strategy, said, “In an environment dominated by rapidly rising customer expectations, industry convergence and low barriers to entry, our retail clients are looking for end-to-end strategy solutions to navigate this disruption. Through this acquisition, we will be able to offer our clients a powerful combination of services to help shape the transformation of the retail sector.”

Following completion of the acquisition, Kurt Salmon’s employees are expected to join the Accenture Strategy retail industry practice.

“Our retail clients are increasingly looking for agile and pragmatic solutions from industry experts that enable their transformation journey and help them gain competitive advantage,” said Brooks Kitchel, CEO of Kurt Salmon. “Joining Accenture Strategy will enable us to bring new value to our clients in a collaborative, global and client-centric environment that aligns with our company culture and mission.”

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 375,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Accenture Strategy operates at the intersection of business and technology. We bring together our capabilities in business, technology, operations and function strategy to help our clients envision and execute industry-specific strategies that support enterprise wide transformation. Our focus on issues related to digital disruption, competitiveness, global operating models, talent and leadership help drive both efficiencies and growth. For more information, visit www.accenture.com/strategy.

About Kurt Salmon
Kurt Salmon is a global management consulting firm dedicated to building the market leaders of tomorrow. More than just partnering with our clients, we ally with them, integrating ourselves seamlessly into their organizations in order to develop innovative, customized solutions for their 21st-century business issues.

Succeeding in today’s increasingly complex, consumer-driven environment is an enormous challenge. But companies need to look beyond today; they need to position themselves for continued success in the even more uncertain future. That’s where Kurt Salmon comes in.

We call it delivering “success for what’s next.” The results are transformative.

www.kurtsalmon.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. These include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture, Kurt Salmon and Management Consulting Group 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 could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic 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, and a significant reduction in such demand 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; the markets in which Accenture competes are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture could have liability or Accenture’s reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if the company’s information systems are breached; Accenture’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; the company’s results of operations could materially suffer if the company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet its profitability expectations; if Accenture does not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of performing its work or if the third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then Accenture’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be less profitable than expected or unprofitable; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture’s profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and the company may not be able to improve its profitability through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past; 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 might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in the company’s treatment as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s results of operations and financial condition; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; adverse changes to Accenture’s relationships with key alliance partners or in the business of its key alliance partners could adversely affect the company’s results of operations; Accenture’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 Accenture is unable to protect its intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or infringement by third parties, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; any changes to the estimates and assumptions that Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; many of Accenture’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 Accenture is unable to collect its receivables or unbilled services, the company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows 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; 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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Contacts:

Justyna Gnyp
Accenture
+ 44 750 012 4567
justyna.gnyp@accenture.com

Anthony Hatter
Accenture
+ 44 7810 756 138
anthony.hatter@accenture.com