Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) ACN has acquired a privately held Australian technology consultancy, Icon Integration for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2011 and currently employing around 70 professionals, Icon Integration is a provider of SAP digital supply chain solutions and services, and specialized business intelligence (BI) solutions across Australia and New Zealand. It has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.
How Will Accenture Benefit?
The buyout is expected to boost Accenture’s technology practice across the two countries and help it meet the increasing demand for technology solutions by SAP users. Accenture clients will now be able to lower operational costs and improve performance through specialized supply chain and business intelligence capabilities.
"Combined, Accenture and Icon Integration offer a unique proposition to help clients realise {realize} tangible business benefits from their technology investments,” said Scott Hahn, who leads Accenture’s Technology practice in Australia and New Zealand.
The move comes two months after Accenture’s acquisition of specialist government consultancy, Apis Group. Other notable acquisitions in Australia over the past year include cybersecurity and Technology Company BCT Solutions, and big data and analytics company Analytics8.
Notably, Accenture shares have gained 35% over the past year, significantly outperforming the 26.1% growth of the industry it belongs to.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Currently, Accenture carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are NV5 Global NVEE, TransUnion TRU and Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2.
Long-term earnings (three to five years) growth rate for NV5 Global, TransUnion and Republic Services is estimated at 20%, 14.2% and 8.4%, respectively.
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