TOKYO – Accenture (NSE: ACN) is to acquire Japanese data science company ALBERT Inc. (President and CEO: Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, Securities Code: 3906), after completing a tender offer. The acquisition will add a large team of data scientists to Accenture to further strengthen its data and AI capabilities for clients.
The tender offer was launched on September 29 and closed on November 14. The number of ALBERT’s common shares and stock acquisition rights tendered to Accenture significantly exceeds the threshold required for ALBERT to become part of Accenture, equal to two-thirds of the ALBERT stock. Upon completion of the transaction, ALBERT will be part of Accenture. Accenture expects to purchase all remaining shares and stock acquisition rights in the coming months, after which ALBERT will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
ALBERT offers AI and big data analytics services, AI-based algorithm development, AI implementation consulting, and data science training support, primarily to major corporations in Japan. The company was founded in 2005 and was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2015. Its data science team of 250 permanent employees and contractors will join Accenture’s Applied Intelligence practice, which provides AI and data-led transformation solutions and services.
ALBERT will strengthen Accenture’s ability globally to help its clients manage the total reinvention of their enterprises, which most successful companies will undergo in the next decade. Technology, data, and AI will transform every part of their business, enabling new ways of working and engaging with customers, business models, and growth opportunities.
The acquisition will be Accenture’s latest step to further strengthen its services in Japan that use data to digitally replicate the entire enterprise and to help Japanese companies grow and become more competitive with deep data analytics and AI expertise. Accenture has launched several solutions for data-driven management in Japan recently, for example, to forecast various business scenarios and propose actions to improve the forecasts and to support clients’ ESG (environment, society, and corporate governance) practices.
Atsushi Egawa, who leads Accenture’s business in Japan, said, “Companies today need a 360-degree view of their business to make better and faster decisions. They must look beyond the financials and include, for example, sustainability initiatives, customer experiences, and people development and retraining. Gaining this holistic perspective and being able to simulate every aspect of the business requires deep data science expertise and AI capabilities. Accenture and ALBERT’s team will bring these to clients to help them succeed in their total enterprise reinvention.”
Takeshi Matsumoto, President, and CEO of ALBERT said, “ALBERT’s philosophy is to connect the world with data science and co-create new value for a better future. As leading companies across industries are investing heavily in AI, we’re seeing growing demand for the technologies and skills that are the core of our business. By joining Accenture, which excels at addressing its clients’ most complex opportunities and issues, our team can drive even more value for clients and accelerate the implementation of AI in society.”
ALBERT will follow other acquisitions Accenture has made to strengthen its data and AI capabilities for clients globally. These include Analytics8 in Australia; Sentelis in France; Bridgei2i and Byte Prophecy in India; Pragsis Bidoop in Spain; Mudano in the UK; and Clarity Insights, End-to-End Analytics, and Core Compete in the US.