Accenture has completed the acquisition of a 47.4% shareholding in OCTO Technology, a France-based technology consultancy specialising in digital transformation and software development. The company has also acquired Karmarama, one of the UK’s largest independent creative agencies helping brands enhance their mobile user experience.
Completion of the acquisition follows the clearance from the competent regulatory authorities and the consultation of OCTO’s works council.
“With the support of OCTO’s leadership, we look forward to working together following completion of the tender offer to deliver the greatest possible results for clients in France and further afield, driving digital transformations through our shared pragmatic, innovative approach to technology,” said Pascal Delorme, Accenture Digital lead, France and Benelux.
The OCTO supervisory board unanimously concluded that the Accenture offer was in the best interest of OCTO, its shareholders and its employees and decided, therefore to recommend to OCTO’s shareholders and equity warrant holders to tender their securities to the offer.
“OCTO clients will benefit from the deep industry experience and global scale of Accenture Digital, whose French operations will be invigorated by this acquisition,” said François Hisquin, CEO and founder of OCTO.
In connection with the completion of the acquisition, two representatives of Accenture have joined the supervisory board of OCTO: Christian Nibourel, country managing director for Accenture in France and Benelux, and Jean-Pierre Bokobza, senior managing director, Accenture Digital. Mr Nibourel has also been elected chairman of the board.
Accenture has completed the acquisition through the indirect purchase of 1,962,323 shares and 1,941,381 equity warrants from the founder and CEO, and the managers, of OCTO, and the purchase of 238,519 shares from Financière Arbevel, at a price of €22.50 (US$24.00 approx.) per share and €1.7222 (US$1.84 approx.) per equity warrant, in private transactions.
Accenture buys creative agency Karmarama to expand its mobile experience capabilities in the UK
Meanwhile, the Karmarama acquisition strengthens the ability of Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture Digital, to create and deliver integrated customer experiences to brands in the UK and beyond. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in London, Karmarama develops advertising campaigns, data-driven content and mobile platforms to build what it calls “immersive consumer experiences”, embedding creativity across all aspects of a brand. Notable clients include the BBC, Confused.com, Honda, Just Eat and Unilever. Karmarama has a team of 250 employees spanning creatives, digital strategists and data practitioners.
The acquisition bolsters the full suite of customer transformation services Accenture Interactive provides to brands, from customer insights to creative conception and omnichannel delivery of meaningful human experiences. It also contributes to the growth of Accenture Interactive’s UK team of marketing professionals and creatives.
Karmarama’s Jon Wilkins (executive chairman), Ben Bilboul (chief executive officer), Sid McGrath (chief strategy officer) and Nik Studzinski (chief creative officer) will continue in their current roles and take on additional Accenture Interactive leadership positions to drive brand strategy and creativity in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America (EALA).
Karmarama was founded in 2000 and received backing from Phoenix Equity Partners in 2011. In April this year, Accenture acquired a majority stake in IMJ Corporation (IMJ), a full-service digital agency in Japan. Prior to that, Accenture acquired AD.Dialeto, an independent Brazilian digital agency; Pacific Link, a set of independent digital agencies serving Hong Kong and Greater China; Chaotic Moon, an Austin, Texas-based creative technology studio; and Brightstep, a Swedish provider of digital content and commerce solutions.
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