Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire Origin
Digital, Inc., a privately held New Jersey-based company that provides
rich video capture, transformation and delivery services to content
owners. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The acquisition will expand Accenture’s
ability to help clients grow their digital media revenue through Origin
Digital’s specialized expertise in reaching
new customers via mobile, broadband, IPTV and video-on-demand services.
“The digital market has reached critical mass,
and bandwidth is now both affordable and economical, driving a
revolution in digital media and creating challenges and exciting
opportunities for our clients,” said Greg
Douglass, managing director of Accenture's Media & Entertainment
practice. “Origin Digital will enhance our
ability to help clients transform themselves for this new digital world.”
Origin Digital (www.OriginDigital.com)
is well established in the digital media supply chain and has a number
of Fortune 500 companies in its client portfolio that are also
Accenture clients.
“The addition of Origin Digital video
capabilities to Accenture’s Digital Media
Services group will complement the experience we developed in music
through our acquisition of Digiplug last year,”
said Richard Cottrell, managing director of Accenture Digital Media
Services (ADMS) group “Creating a full suite
of managed services will accelerate the availability of digital media
services to businesses globally.”
ADMS helps digital content producers and providers get high-quality
content to the market faster, through more channels and with greater
efficiency than ever before. It will manage Origin Digital’s
existing services along with those of Digiplug (www.digiplug.com),
providing a comprehensive solution set to enable leading content owners
and distributors to stay ahead of the explosive demand for digital
content and services.
Industry analysts have predicted that the mobile content and services
industry will grow by almost 70 percent to $277 billion by 2010.
“We’re excited to
be combining our business with Accenture’s
technology expertise and global reach,” said
Darcy Lorincz, CEO of Origin Digital. “We’re
confident that together we will make a significant impact in the digital
arena and enable Accenture to become the pre-eminent provider for
digital media services worldwide.”
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is
expected to close within 30 days.
More information on Accenture’s Digital Media
Services can be found at www.accenture.com/ADMSVideo.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company. 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. With 178,000 people in 49
countries, the company generated net revenues of US$19.70 billion for
the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2007. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About Origin Digital, Inc.
Origin Digital is a global video applications service provider that
applies the rigors of broadcast to the management, transformation,
syndication, and reporting for all forms of digital content from any
source to any destination. Through its network of strategic partners and
directly via global points of presence, Origin Digital provides hosted
applications, tools and services to simplify the capture, conversion,
and control of digital media across the value chain. Its clients include
media and entertainment organizations, enterprises as well as global
brands. Origin Digital is closely held and headquartered in the New York
Metro Area. For further information visit www.OriginDigital.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. 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 Origin Digital 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; our business could be negatively
affected if we cannot expand and develop our services and solutions in
response to changes in technology and client demand; the management
consulting, systems integration and technology and outsourcing markets
are highly competitive and we might not be able to compete effectively;
our business could be negatively affected by economic and political
conditions and the effects of these conditions on our clients’
business and levels of business activity; our work with government
clients exposes us to additional risks in the government contracting
process; clients may not be satisfied with our services; our business
could be negatively affected by legal liability that results from our
providing solutions or services; our results could be adversely affected
if our clients terminate their contracts with us on short notice; our
outsourcing services subject us to operational and financial risk;
liabilities could arise if our subcontractors or other third parties
cannot deliver their project contributions on time or at all; our
results of operations may be adversely affected by the type and level of
technology spending by our clients; our profitability may suffer if we
are not able to maintain favorable pricing rates and utilization rates,
if we cannot control our costs, or if we cannot anticipate the cost and
complexity of performing our work; our global operations are subject to
complex risks, some of which might be beyond our control; our growth and
our ability to compete may be adversely affected if we cannot attract,
retain and motivate our employees or efficiently utilize their skills,
including those personnel currently employed by Origin Digital; our
business may be adversely affected if we cannot manage the
organizational challenges associated with the size and expansion of our
company; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed
under the “Risk Factors”
heading in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other
documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Statements in this press 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.
