Accenture to Acquire Majority Stake in DLB to Expand Capital Projects Capabilities for End-to-End Data Center Development

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake (65%) in US-based AI data center engineering and consulting firm DLB Associates and its affiliated companies (collectively "DLB"). The transaction will expand Accenture's end-to-end data center capabilities in order to help software and platforms and high tech clients accelerate time to market and meet demand for the enablement of AI.

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Accenture signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake (65%) in US-based AI data center engineering and consulting firm DLB Associates and its affiliated companies (collectively "DLB").

Founded in 1980, DLB is a leader in data center site selection, due diligence, design engineering, commissioning, construction quality management and energy optimization services. As a trusted partner to some of the largest and most innovative hyperscalers, emerging hyperscalers, neo-clouds and colocation providers, DLB helps clients accelerate speed to market and deliver successful outcomes through an innovative, creative and holistic approach.

Upon the closing of the transaction, DLB's approximately 620 employees, led by David Quirk and Neil Chauhan, will join forces with Accenture‘s Industry X practice, augmenting its infrastructure and capital projects (I&CP) capabilities.

"As AI-driven demand for data center capacity accelerates, our clients increasingly face infrastructure constraints that impact their core value chains," said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture. "Along with DLB's deep expertise, Accenture will offer an end-to-end capability from the earliest stages of conceptual design and strategic site development through to advanced engineering, rapid deployment, and operational performance. This approach will ensure our clients can meet the ever-increasing demands of AI with speed, scale and reliability."

DLB has also supported the development of industry standards for data centers, including co-founding the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Technical Committee TC9.9, which focuses on mission critical aspects for data centers.

"The data center industry is experiencing significant growth amid an unprecedented push for scaling and DLB is at the forefront of helping clients quickly navigate every stage of the development lifecycle," said David Quirk, CEO, DLB. "We selected Accenture to unleash our ability to match that scale and help support clients through value creation and joint ideation for next generation AI data center—at pace."

"We are experiencing accelerating momentum in the data center industry," said Neil Chauhan, chief innovation officer, DLB. "Fueled by the promise of an AI-driven future, there is a collective focus and urgency to quickly provide and deploy compute at scale. Together DLB and Accenture will be well positioned to deliver on the ambitious build programs of hyperscalers, emerging hyperscalers, neo-clouds and colocation providers."

"We are entering a new era where companies need AI-ready infrastructure that's built rapidly, efficiently, reliably and at scale," said Manish Sharma, chief strategy and services officer, Accenture. "Our clients are facing challenges as they execute on their scale ambitions and look to us to help them with site planning and selection, managing staffing shortages, ensuring sustainability, and protecting against cybersecurity risks. By pairing DLB's data center services expertise with Accenture's global reach and strengths across supply chain, procurement, construction management and technology, we plan to address client demand for more value and innovation."

Infrastructure and capital projects, including data center development, are a growing part of Accenture's service portfolio and global capabilities. By investing in companies like DLB, Accenture is expanding its capabilities to support clients and participate in the growth of AI infrastructure, with DLB specifically expanding its footprint in the Americas. Since 2023, Accenture has rapidly built a global presence and deep capabilities in infrastructure and capital projects. This includes key acquisitions of U.S. advisory and management company Anser Advisory and Canadian consulting and program management company Comtech. Subsequent acquisitions, including data center construction consultancy Soben in the UK, BOSLAN in Spain, Partners in Performance in Australia, IQT Group in Italy and Orlade in France, are enabling Accenture to meet evolving client demands.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals.

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," "aspires," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook," "goal," "target" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and DLB Associates 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; Accenture's results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for the company's solutions and services including through the adaptation and expansion of its solutions and services in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI, including advanced AI, could harm the company's business, damage its reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action; if Accenture is unable to match people and their skills 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; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with its ecosystem partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company's results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer due to pricing pressure, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture's debt obligations could adversely affect its business and financial condition; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and strategy to continue to grow in key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture's global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture's solutions or services infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture 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.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading solutions and global professional services company that helps the world's leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise, bringing together the talent of our approximately 779,000 people, our proprietary assets and platforms, and deep ecosystem relationships. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most AI-enabled, client-focused, great place to work in the world. Through our Reinvention Services we bring together our capabilities across strategy, consulting, technology, operations, Song and Industry X with our deep industry expertise to create and deliver solutions and services for our clients. Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we measure our success by the 360° value we create for all our stakeholders. Visit us at accenture.com.

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Jens R. Derksen

Accenture

+49 175 57 61393

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Molly McDonagh

Accenture

+44 7825 023 622

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