Accenture Closes Acquisition

Accenture Ltd. of Hamilton, Bermuda, has acquired San Francisco-based Epylon Corp., a supplier of electronic procurement solutions for government and education.

The acquisition was completed shortly before Accenture's initial public offering July 19. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Epylon's senior management and all its employees were offered employment, Accenture said. The company will operate under the name Epylon, and Accenture partner Jay Mohr will become the acting chief executive.

In an unrelated announcement, Accenture said it is reducing its staff by approximately 1,500, or about 2 percent of its global work force of 75,000. It also is expanding its new sabbatical program to temporarily idle about 1,000 employees in Europe and Asia.

The permanent staff reduction will affect about 1,000 consulting personnel, mostly in the United States, and about 500 support personnel worldwide. The company also will delay the start dates of about 1,000 new consultants.