Accenture (ACN) Closes Avenai Buyout, Boosts Canada Footprint
Accenture plc ACN announced that it has completed the acquisition of Avenai, an Ottawa-based provider of consulting and technology services. The deal was initially announced on Oct 7. Financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.
With more than 70 employees, Avenai is engaged in providing services related to strategy development, process improvement, IT-enabled business transformation and organization culture transformation. It was established in 2012.
So far this year, shares of Accenture have gained 22.1% compared with 19.6% rise of the industry it belongs to and 15.4% growth of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
Buyout to Boost Accenture’s Presence in Canada
With Avenai’s solid popularity among both government and commercial clients in the Ottawa and Toronto regions, the deal is expected to help Accenture enhance its technology transformation capabilities across the public-sector market in Canada while also strengthening its competitive position.
Accenture’s international presence, in combination with Avenai’s experienced consulting team, should help clients meet their digital needs across the public-sector market in Canada.
Considering the coronavirus-induced increased dependency on technology, the deal seems to be a strategic move on Accenture’s part to strengthen its foothold in Canada in the current scenario.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Accenture currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are ICF International ICFI, Automatic Data Processing ADP and Insperity NSP, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The long-term expected earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate for ICF International, Automatic Data Processing and Insperity is 10%, 12% and 15%, respectively.
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