Accenture strikes $4.18 billion cybersecurity deal, shares fall on forecast cut

June 18 (Reuters) - Consultancy firm Accenture said on Thursday it would take a majority stake in industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos and fully acquire asset intelligence company runZero and device security specialist NetRise in a combined deal valued at $4.18 billion.

 

Shares of Accenture fell over 11% in premarket trading as the company cut the top end of its annual revenue growth forecast range, signaling businesses wary of an uncertain economy are curtailing spending on discretionary IT consulting projects.

 

The acquisitions will expand Accenture’s cybersecurity business into software for protecting industrial operations and critical infrastructure, including power grids, pipelines, factories and data centers, amid rising AI-driven cyber threats and geopolitical tensions.

 

The deals, expected to close in August or September pending regulatory approvals, will add companies with combined annual recurring revenue of $208 million and build on Accenture’s $10 billion cybersecurity business.

 

The company now expects annual revenue growth between 3% and 4%, down from its previous forecast of 3% to 5%.

Accenture expects fourth-quarter revenue between $17.75 billion and $18.4 billion, below analysts’ average estimate of $18.47 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

 

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Maju Samuel)