MONTREAL, Oct. 31, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ – 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.

SOURCE Accenture