Accenture Announces Intention to Acquire French Digital Commerce Agency Altima
Oct 17, 2017, 09:02 ET
Acquisition to further expand Accenture Interactive's customer experiences capabilities to help brands win and retain customers
TORONTO, Oct. 17, 2017 /CNW/ - Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Altima, a full-service digital commerce agency, headquartered in France and with offices in China, Canada and the United States. The acquisition would boost Accenture Interactive's capabilities in France and other key markets to help brands attract consumers and turn them into loyal customers with differentiated and compelling digital experiences.
The acquisition requires prior consultation with the relevant works councils and would be subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
@AccentureACTIVE Announces Intent to Acquire #DigitalCommerce agency @Altima – Driving Its Strategy to Build the Best #CX on the Planet
Altima creates and adapts experiences for eCommerce, mobile and in-store commerce. Its work for prestigious French and global brands has been recognized with numerous awards, most recently the 2016 Trophées E-Commerce in the user experience design category and a 2016 W3 Award for design and user experience. Altima's offering spans experience strategy, user experience design, digital marketing services and multichannel commerce platform implementation.
"Experiences are where brands win and lose customers, today more than ever," said Anatoly Roytman, head of Accenture Interactive Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America and global digital commerce lead for Accenture. "Adding Altima's skills to Accenture Interactive will help in our mission to create the best experiences on the planet for clients."
"France is home to many of the world's most exciting and successful brands," said Christian Nibourel, country managing director for Accenture in France and Benelux. "At the same time, it's a market where many international brands are trying to gain market share. The acquisition of Altima would put Accenture Interactive in France in an excellent position to help businesses innovate the digital experiences and expand their footprint, locally and internationally."
"Altima and Accenture Interactive share the same culture of innovation and passion for designing the future of commerce," said Arnaud Monnier, CEO of Altima. "We are excited to join forces with the world's largest digital network. The global scale of Accenture Interactive would provide a unique opportunity for us to bring our work for clients to a new level, and offer new career opportunities to our people."
Founded in 1997, Altima has a team of 370 people working from offices in Roubaix, Paris and Lyon (France), Montréal (Canada), Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong (China), and New York (U.S.).
In France, the Altima team would enable Accenture Interactive to better help companies grow their customer experience offering and expand into other markets. In China, it would boost Accenture Interactive's services in commerce and content, which are critical areas for Chinese companies. In Canada, Altima recently merged its team with Montréal-based web marketing agency Konversion. The joint team will strengthen the Accenture Interactive end-to-end digital marketing services available to Canadian clients, in both English and French.
Once completed, Altima would be the seventeenth acquisition Accenture Interactive has made since 2013. Recent acquisitions include MATTER, a design and innovation firm, Wire Stone, a creative marketing agency, Clearhead, a digital optimization company, and Media Hive, an e-commerce solutions specializing in Salesforce Commerce Cloud implementation (all US). Other acquisitions in 2016 and 2017 include creative agencies The Monkeys/Maud (Australia) and Karmarama (UK), communications agency Kunstmaan (Belgium), and digital agency SinnerSchrader (Germany).
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 approximately 425,000 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 Interactive helps the world's leading brands transform their customer experiences across the entire customer journey. Through our connected offerings in design, marketing, content and commerce, we create new ways to win in today's experience-led economy. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world's largest digital agency in the latest Ad Age Agency Report. To learn more, follow us @accentureACTIVE and visit www.accentureinteractive.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 and Altima 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 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 changing 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; 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 from security breaches or cyberattacks; 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; 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 results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; 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, investing in 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; 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; 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.
SOURCE Accenture
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