In Separate Agreement, Accenture to Provide Amadeus with
Infrastructure Outsourcing, Application and R&D Services
Amadeus Says Complementary Acquisition Marks Significant Step in
the Low-Cost and Hybrid-Carrier Airline Segments; Will Be
Earnings-Accretive From Day One; Expected to Close in Q4 CY15,
Subject to Customary Regulatory Approvals
Amadeus has agreed to acquire Navitaire, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) that provides technology and
business solutions to the airline industry, for US$830 million.
Navitaire, which focuses on the low-cost and hybrid-carrier
segments of the airline industry and has a global customer base of
more than 50 operators, provides revenue-generation and
cost-streamlining solutions in the areas of reservations, ancillary
sales, loyalty, revenue management, revenue accounting and business
intelligence.
The addition of Navitaire’s portfolio of products and solutions
for the low-cost segment will complement Amadeus’ Altéa suite of
offerings for its largely full-service carrier customer base,
giving the company the ability to serve a wider group of airlines.
Amadeus intends to market and sell the two product portfolios
separately and will continue to invest in both platforms, enhancing
the services and functionality availability to all types of
carriers. Amadeus believes that the acquisition will enable it to
improve the connectivity between different carriers in the same
airline groups or alliances and that the functionality from each
platform will enhance the other.
“Bringing Navitaire’s experience, industry know-how, client base
and strong product portfolio is a significant step for Amadeus in
the low-cost and hybrid-carrier segments,” said Luis Maroto,
President and CEO of Amadeus. “Airlines of all shapes and sizes
face an increasingly competitive market for an increasingly
demanding traveler, and this transaction will give us the ability
to serve all airlines with technology that can enable them to drive
new revenues and contain their costs.”
Navitaire has a strong track record of revenue growth,
profitability and cash generation.
As part of the acquisition, approximately 550 Navitaire
employees, including the company’s senior management team, are
expected to transfer to Amadeus.
Amadeus and Accenture expect to close the Navitaire acquisition
in the fourth quarter of calendar 2015, following regulatory
approvals. Amadeus expects the acquisition to have minimal impact
on its financial performance in 2015.
In a separate agreement, Accenture and Amadeus have agreed to
form an alliance to help lead airlines through the digital
transformation taking place in the industry and drive efficiency in
the global operations of airlines’ businesses. The alliance
combines Amadeus’ and Navitaire’s industry solutions and experience
with Accenture’s aviation expertise and global capabilities in
technology, analytics, cloud, mobility and operations. Accenture
and Amadeus will jointly focus on digital travel services, with an
emphasis on commercial passenger operations in order to provide a
more seamless traveler experience from “door to door.”
Under the alliance agreement, Accenture will be designated as an
Amadeus “Strategic Partner” for its Airline IT business for
management consulting, technology consulting, systems integration,
business process outsourcing and digital services, complementing
Amadeus’ existing in-house consulting and digital services.
Accenture and Amadeus have also agreed to enter into a third
agreement under which Accenture will provide Amadeus with
infrastructure outsourcing, application and research and
development services. Accenture will continue to provide hosting
services for current Navitaire clients as well as Amadeus’s future
clients that purchase the Navitaire solution.
“The travel industry is a strategic market for Accenture, and we
continue to grow our practice in this area to help our clients
better serve their digital customers,” said Eric Schaeffer, senior
managing director, Accenture. “The combination of products and
solutions from Accenture, Amadeus and Navitaire in this alliance
will create a unique offering in the market that no single provider
currently offers. We’re also excited to be leveraging our
experience in the airline industry and our technology expertise to
provide Amadeus with a range of outsourcing and R&D
services.”
David P. Evans, Navitaire CEO, said, “Today’s announcement marks
a new chapter for Navitaire that will enable us to accelerate and
deepen our industry offerings. Our customers will benefit from
greater access to Amadeus’ industry solutions to help support their
growth and link with traditional industry partners. At the same
time, they will continue to benefit from Accenture’s expertise and
capabilities as a result of the Accenture-Amadeus alliance.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services
and outsourcing company, with more than 336,000 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. The
company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is
www.accenture.com.
About Amadeus
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions
for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel
providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.),
travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers
(corporations and travel management companies). The Amadeus group
employs around 12,000 people worldwide, across central sites in
Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding
(operations), as well as 71 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations
globally. The group operates a transaction-based business model.
For the year ended December 31, 2014 the company reported revenues
of €3,417.7 million and EBITDA of €1,306 million. Amadeus is listed
on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol "AMS.MC" and is a
component of the IBEX 35 index.
To find out more about Amadeus, please visit www.amadeus.com,
and www.amadeus.com/blog for more on the travel industry.
About Navitaire
Navitaire (www.navitaire.com) delivers industry-leading
technology services supporting growth, profitability and innovation
to more than 50 airlines and rail companies worldwide, including
many of the world’s most successful airlines. Navitaire offers a
full suite of proven solutions focused on revenue generation and
streamlining costs in the areas of reservations, ancillary sales,
loyalty, revenue management, revenue accounting and business
intelligence. A wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture, Navitaire has
offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
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 Amadeus
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; 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 does not accurately anticipate the
cost, risk and complexity of performing its work or if the third
parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the
company’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be less
profitable than expected or unprofitable; the company’s results of
operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations
in foreign currency exchange rates; 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; the company’s business could be materially adversely
affected if the company incurs legal liability; the company’s work
with government clients exposes the company to additional risks
inherent in the government contracting environment; the company
might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating
businesses or entering into joint ventures; the company’s Global
Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the
Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; changes in
the company’s level of taxes, as well as 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; 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; adverse changes to the company’s relationships
with key alliance partners or in the business of its key alliance
partners could adversely affect the company’s results of
operations; 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; 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; 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; if the company is unable to manage the
organizational challenges associated with its size, the company
might be unable to achieve its business objectives; 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.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150701006732/en/
AmadeusBen Hunt, + 34 618 316
931ben.hunt@amadeus.comorAccentureAnthony Hatter, + 44 7810 756
138anthony.hatter@accenture.comorAmadeus North AmericaDebra
Iannaci, + 1 305 499 6005diannaci@amadeus.com
Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024