Accenture buys Ookla and Ziff Davis connectivity unit for $1.2B

Accenture agreed to buy Ziff Davis’ Connectivity division for $1.2 billion in cash, acquiring brands that include Ookla and its Speedtest app, Downdetector, Ekahau and RootMetrics. The unit generated about $231 million in revenue in 2025 and represented roughly 16 percent of Ziff Davis’ sales, making the deal strategically aimed at building network intelligence for enterprise AI rather than materially shifting Accenture’s roughly multibillion-dollar revenue base.

Accenture said the acquisition will allow it to package end-to-end network intelligence for clients pursuing AI-driven digital transformation. “With the Ookla portfolio, we will offer end-to-end network intelligence services essential for AI-based transformation,” said Manish Sharma, Accenture’s chief strategy and services officer. Ziff Davis framed the sale as a way to realize shareholder value and place the division with a global services owner. “This is a transformative deal for Ziff Davis, representing a significant realization of value for our shareholders and a concrete illustration of the quality of the businesses in our portfolio,” said Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah, who thanked the Connectivity team and said they were “thrilled at the prospect of joining Accenture, a leading global solutions and services company.”

The Connectivity assets cover consumer-facing measurement and incident detection tools as well as professional network design and testing. Ookla’s Speedtest is the best known consumer speed measurement app; Downdetector tracks outages that can signal disruptions to emergency communications and telehealth; Ekahau provides Wi-Fi design tools used by hospitals, schools and public facilities; and RootMetrics supplies performance data used by carriers and regulators. The seller will continue to operate the unit while the transaction moves toward a close in the coming months. Ziff Davis said proceeds will support corporate purposes and capital allocation under its debt agreements, and it will classify Connectivity as discontinued operations in its fiscal reporting starting with the first quarter of 2026.

Investor reaction was sharp and immediate. Ziff Davis shares surged in early trading, with intraday readings showing gains in the tens of percentage points, reflecting market enthusiasm for the divestiture. Financial advisers for Ziff Davis on the transaction included Evercore and Citi, and legal counsel was provided by Kirkland & Ellis.

Industry observers noted the deal’s modest financial scale relative to Accenture’s size but significant strategic consequence. “A 5 times revenue multiple at the division level. For Accenture, with more than $60 billion in annual revenue, the deal barely moves the financial needle. Strategically, it could change the terrain,” wrote analyst Sebastian Barros, framing the move as a consolidation of network measurement under a major telecom advisor.

Public health and equity advocates will watch how the consolidation affects access and accountability. Network intelligence underpins telemedicine reliability, remote monitoring, and emergency response. Centralizing data and advisory power in a firm that advises carriers and enterprises may accelerate improvements in service quality but could also reshape who benefits from network upgrades. Regulators, health systems and community broadband initiatives will likely seek clarity on data access, privacy protections, and whether tools such as outage tracking and Wi-Fi design will remain available to public-interest users and underserved communities.

Remaining questions include the precise timing and regulatory approvals required for closing, the fate of about 430 employees associated with Ookla, and integration plans for the Connectivity brands into Accenture’s services.