Accenture has acquired Yesler, a business-to-business (B2B) marketing services agency in Seattle, Washington. Financial terms were not disclosed.
This is M&A deal number 168 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. The pace of deals has slowed a bit since the coronavirus pandemic emerged, but overall deal volume remains reasonable steady. See the complete M&A deal list here.
Accenture's acquisition budget is $1.6 billion for fiscal year 2020, CFO KC McClure told Wall Street analysts during an earnings call in mid-March 2020. As of that time, the global IT services provider and consulting firm had spent $584 million on 17 acquisitions in this fiscal year, McClure indicated.We don't know if the budget has changed amid the pandemic.
Accenture Acquires Yesler: More Perspectives
Armed with Yesler, Accenture’s B2B marketing services gain more account-based marketing, customer advocacy, sales enablement, and marketing automation capabilities.
Yesler has more than 400 people globally, with offices in Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, London, Toronto and Singapore. The company, founded in 2004, has two business segments:
- Yesler B2B, which provides full-service digital marketing and managed services; and
- Projectline services, which provides strategic resourcing solutions.
In a prepared statement about the deal, Manish Sharma, group CEO for Accenture Operations, said:
“Yesler’s expertise in B2B has given them a unique understanding of how businesses make purchase decisions — insights that empower marketers to influence purchasing decisions at critical stages, enabling them to achieve growth and adapt their operating models for continued success. We’re excited to have them join the Accenture team.”
Added Brian Whipple, group chief executive for Accenture Interactive:
“B2B marketing has become extraordinarily complex and, at the same time, buyers expect the same ‘Amazon-like’ interactions they experience as consumers. B2B marketers are seeking to leverage best practices from B2C while also addressing the specialized needs of B2B. The addition of Yesler allows us to enhance the complete set of B2B services we provide our clients – from strategy and creative to implementation and ongoing management.”
Mike Kichline, CEO of Yesler, added:
“Accenture provides Yesler with global scale along with strengths and values that complement our own. Together, our capabilities provide a differentiated, data-driven approach that companies can use to position themselves strategically and deliver on the ambition of sustainable growth.”
Here's a detailed list of Accenture acquisitions spanning dozens of deals.
