Accenture
(NYSE:ACN) today announced plans to acquire PCO
Innovation – a leading international consulting and systems
integration group that specializes in product lifecycle management (PLM)
software technologies. The acquisition will strengthen Accenture’s
ability to help clients organize, develop and manage new products and
services throughout their lifecycle and bring them to market more
quickly and efficiently.
PCO Innovation offers PLM strategy and process consultancy, application
architecture, system implementation, data migration and application
management. Its professionals specialize in delivering PLM
industry-leading platforms including Dassault Systèmes, PTC and Siemens
PLM.
The acquisition complements Accenture’s deep industry capabilities and
the full range of services it provides clients in the design, building
and management of systems and processes essential to driving their
large-scale PLM transformation programs.
“Our clients are shifting to global operating models and the complexity
of their products and services is increasing,” said Sergio Colella,
managing director, Accenture. “There is a greater demand to integrate
product and service development processes across disciplines from
innovation to manufacturing, supply chain and customer service. With the
combined capabilities of PCO Innovation and Accenture, we improve our
ability to address this fast- growing market which is core to our
clients as they build their future offerings.”
Earlier this year, Accenture acquired PRION
Group, a company also specializing in the delivery of PLM
services. With the addition of PRION Group’s capabilities and the skills
and experiences of PCO Innovation’s professionals, Accenture has
expanded its ability to help automotive, aerospace and defense, consumer
goods, electronics and industrial equipment clients improve the critical
processes required to deliver products to customers quickly and
efficiently. PCO Innovation’s employees, assets and accelerators will
support the expansion of Accenture’s end-to-end PLM business services.
Etienne Borgeat, PCO Innovation CEO, said: “Having established PCO
Innovation as a leading independent PLM group, we are pleased to be
creating a market leader for end-to-end PLM services with Accenture,
offering our clients an unparalleled set of solutions and services.”
“For many of our clients, competitive differentiation depends on
innovation and time to market, so improving their PLM solution portfolio
brings significant value to their business,” said Jean-Laurent Poitou,
senior managing director, Accenture. “Our research shows that PLM can
get products into the market faster and more efficiently, increasing the
speed of product launches by up to 55 percent and reducing operational
and product development costs by 10–30 percent. PLM is also a critical
lever for manufacturing companies to create profitable and sustainable
business opportunities in customer service.”
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. Through its Skills to Succeed corporate
citizenship focus, Accenture is committed to equipping 500,000 people
around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a
business. 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 PCO Innovation
Founded in 2000, PCO Innovation is the largest independent international
service group specializing in the field of Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). PCO Innovation counts over 600
consultants and experts within its ranks serving 150 clients in 30
countries, of which some are world leaders in a wide range of
industries. Combining its experience with advanced technologies and
industrial processes, PCO Innovation offers value-added consulting,
integration, maintenance and project management services to its clients
throughout the world.
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 PCO Innovation
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.
Copyright Business Wire 2013