Mergers and Acquisitions, Mergers and Acquisitions, Vertical markets

Accenture Acquires Energy Systems Integrator, IT Consultant Bridge

Accenture has acquired Bridge Energy Group, a Boston-based IT consulting and systems integration firm focused on North American electric utilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Utilities typically require new services and innovation to help manage the pressures of the industry. Issues like new regulations, an aging workforce, extreme weather events, and the growing use of distributed energy resources like solar, wind power, storage, and electric vehicles, are all taking a toll on the industry. Founded in 2004, Bridge specializes in helping clients develop, deploy, and operate solutions to these challenges, according to Accenture.

Accenture Acquires Bridge: Executive Perspectives

Stephanie Jamison, a managing director at Accenture who leads its Transmission and Distribution business, commented on the deal:

“We are excited to welcome BRIDGE to Accenture to better help utilities drive transformation by creating new efficiencies for assets and operations while uncovering new revenue streams. Similar to our 2015 acquisition of the Structure Group, BRIDGE will help us meet growing demand from our utilities clients for evaluating and applying new and emerging technologies, including advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, the cloud and blockchain, to develop the grid of the future.”

BRIDGE CEO, Hugo van Nispen, also commented on the deal:

“Joining forces with Accenture will provide the scale, career training, ecosystem and other strengths that will further enable our employees to leverage their strong industry skills to achieve even greater success in serving clients and advancing their careers. It’s very exciting to jointly tackle our clients’ most complex challenges through innovation, especially for grid modernization, reliability and resiliency. I look forward to our clients and our team benefiting from Accenture’s deep industry and technology expertise and its end-to-end innovation capabilities.”

All of Bridge's employees have joined the utilities practice of Accenture’s Resources operating group, the company said.

Accenture’s M&A Moves

Accenture has proven itself a force to be reckoned with on the M&A front. The company in May 2019 announced at least three acquisitions, buying:

Those deals align with Accenture’s $1.5 billion acquisition plan for 2019, which the company has said will be focused on digital, cloud, and cybersecurity opportunities.

The strategy seems to be working. The company’s Q2 revenue grew 5 percent to $10.5 billion and a net income reached $1.14 billion.

Other recent Accenture acquisitions include:

  • Droga5, a New York-based creative agency and advertising firm.
  • Storm Digital, a digital marketing agency in the Netherlands
  • Kolle Rebbe, a digital media agency.

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