Key facts
- Accenture is acquiring Dragos, runZero, and NetRise for a combined $4.18 billion.
- The deals are expected to close in August or September, pending regulatory approvals.
- The acquired companies have a combined annual recurring revenue of $208 million.
- Accenture lowered its annual revenue growth forecast to 3%-4%, down from 3%-5%.
- Accenture expects Q4 revenue between $17.75 billion and $18.4 billion, missing analyst estimates.
Accenture announced on Thursday it would acquire industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos, asset intelligence company runZero, and device security specialist NetRise in a combined deal valued at $4.18 billion. The acquisitions are intended to bolster Accenture's cybersecurity business by expanding into software for protecting industrial operations and critical infrastructure, such as power grids, pipelines, factories, and data centers, in response to rising AI-driven cyber threats and geopolitical tensions.
However, shares of Accenture fell over 11% in premarket trading as the company revised its annual revenue growth forecast downwards to between 3% and 4%, from its previous projection of 3% to 5%. This adjustment signals that businesses are becoming more cautious about spending on discretionary IT consulting projects due to economic uncertainty.
The deals, which are anticipated to close in August or September pending regulatory approvals, will add companies with a combined annual recurring revenue of $208 million to Accenture's existing $10 billion cybersecurity business.
Accenture now projects fourth-quarter revenue to be in the range of $17.75 billion to $18.4 billion, falling short of analysts' average estimate of $18.47 billion.