BUDAPEST — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 28, 2013 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced that it has agreed to acquire the industrial and embedded software development and services business of evopro group, a software development and engineering services company headquartered in Budapest. The acquisition will increase Accenture’s ability to help companies get the most return on their investment in industrial software through process improvement and software development, enabling them to take products to market faster and more efficiently.
evopro group, which has operations in Germany, Hungary, Romania and Turkey, provides services for embedded software used widely in the industrial and medical equipment, automotive, building, logistics and transportation industries. The acquisition will strengthen Accenture’s skills in the industrial software and automation market for industrial companies, and support Accenture’s mobility-driven connected products initiatives.
Companies are investing heavily in industrial software — embedded in machines, tools and connected devices — to improve process efficiency and flexibility. This is transforming core processes in areas such as manufacturing to make operations faster, smarter, and more adaptive.
“This acquisition will strengthen our capabilities in the industrial software solutions market, where we see increased interest from our clients for software development and related IT services,” said Eric Schaeffer, senior managing director with Accenture. “evopro group has a highly skilled workforce with deep expertise in software development, testing, and implementation, as well as automation solutions.”
He added: “It will also strengthen our mobility-based capabilities as we continue to build innovative connected solutions for clients across industries where embedded software is a differentiating capability.”
The acquisition will bring together Accenture’s ability to deliver complex global transformation programs through industrialized delivery methods and innovative technologies with evopro group’s software and engineering skills.
This is Accenture’s third acquisition that will enhance its range of capabilities for manufacturing clients. These include organizing, developing and managing the processes needed for the entire lifecycle of new products and services, bringing them to market more quickly and efficiently. Accenture recently acquired PRION Group and in October announced plans to acquire PCO Innovation, two system integration companies specializing in the delivery of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) services.
Csaba Meszaros, president and CEO of evopro group, said: “The combination of evopro group’s software and engineering experts and Accenture’s industry knowhow will create a unique value proposition for industrial companies demanding fast, efficient and reliable software development and automation solutions.”
Founded in 2001, evopro group is a privately held company with more than 1,000 employees.
Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 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$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com
About evopro group
evopro group, is an IT-R&D consulting and engineering company, headquartered in Budapest, with more than 1,000 highly educated engineers, delivering turnkey industrial automation and IT solutions, providing software development and related engineering services for leading, world-wide operating clients in the fields of Industry, Infrastructure, Mobility, Energy and Healthcare. Beside process and factory automation services, evopro group lays increasing emphasis on innovative embedded systems and engineering solutions. In addition, the group leads and coordinates research and development projects in the field of transportation and vehicle technology. Its home page is www.evopro-group.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: the company and evopro 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 the company; the company’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; the
company’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 the company 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 the company competes are highly
competitive, and the company might not be able to compete effectively;
the company could have liability or the company’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; the company’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; as a
result of the company’s geographically diverse operations and its growth
strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more
susceptible to certain risks; the company’s Global Delivery Network is
increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose
it to operational risks; 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 the
company’s pricing estimates do not accurately anticipate the cost, risk
and complexity of the company performing its work or third parties upon
whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company’s
contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be unprofitable; the
company’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional
risks inherent in the government contracting environment; the company’s
business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs
legal liability; the company’s results of operations could be materially
adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
the company’s alliance relationships may not be successful or may
change, which could adversely affect the company’s results of
operations; outsourcing services and the continued expansion of the
company’s other services and solutions into new areas subject the
company to different operational risks than its consulting and systems
integration services; 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; the
company might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating
businesses or entering into joint ventures; the company’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;
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; changes in
the company’s level of taxes, and 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; if the company is unable to manage
the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company
might be unable to achieve its business objectives; 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; 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. 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.