The multinational consultancy Accenture has purchased two companies, Alfaheath and Industries eXcellence, from the Italian software group Engineering. The figures of the agreement were not disclosed, but it should be a significant operation, given that the two companies represented 18% of Engineering’s turnover.
For the moment this is an agreement that is not yet operational. We will have to wait for the Antitrust to give its approval and finally for the Government not to intervene through golden power. If all goes according to plan, the two companies would transition to Accenture by the end of the year.
Engineering sold two companies to Accenture
Engineering is one of the most important Italian software development groups. In 2025 it had a turnover of 1.76 billion euros and employed almost 14 thousand people. Accenture, on the other hand, is one of the most important IT consultancy multinationals in the world. It sells services to other companies, mostly when they need to improve the way they use technology.
The operation is of a fair size. Engineering is selling two companies, Alfaheath and Industries eXcellence, which represent approximately 18% of its turnover, but above all 25% of its normalized Ebitda. This acronym indicates the gross operating margin, the earnings before having to pay any tax, excluding extraordinary receipts. It is therefore a figure that the two companies are able to repeat for several consecutive years.
What Alfaheath and Industries eXcellence do
Both companies that Engineering sold to Accenture deal with software, but in very different contexts. Alfaheath is a company that develops healthcare systems. Many of the programs that allow Italian local health authorities and hospitals to manage visits, tests, medical records and other health data digitally are produced by it. An important part of the functioning of the National Health System will therefore now be the responsibility of a company controlled by Accenture.
Industries eXcellence has a similar role, but for companies in industrial sectors, such as aerospace, automotive or pharmaceuticals. It produces, installs and configures software for machinery and technical offices, focusing above all on automation. A major part of the company’s business is in the United States, where it has customers in the automotive and aerospace industries.
Because Engineering sold the two companies
The reason for Engineering’s decision was explained by the CEO of the group Aldo Bisio:
The agreements represent an important step in the process of refocusing Engineering’s business: accelerating on AI, regaining new degrees of strategic freedom in the highest growth segments also through the reduction of financial leverage, investing in the main proprietary platforms and strengthening ourselves in the most attractive technological and industrial segments, to consolidate a sustainable competitive advantage for our customers.
Companies like Alfaheath and Industries eXcellence are healthy and making a profit, but they are not part of Engineering’s plans because they are difficult to “scale”, to enlarge. They make tailor-made products and this ties them to a specific customer, in the case of Alfaheath, for example, the Italian healthcare system, limiting them. Engineering, however, wants to focus on its proprietary software, which it can sell to more customers without having to customize it.
