Accenture explores a sale of its Greater China business that could fetch up to $1.5 billion, the FT reports

Accenture is exploring a sale of its business in Greater China that could value the unit at up to $1.5 billion, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, Oct. 18, citing people familiar with the matter. The consulting and technology-services company has hired JPMorgan to run a strategic review after receiving unsolicited interest in the business over the past year, the newspaper said.

What is on the table

The unit covers mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Private equity firms and a small number of strategic buyers are expected to look at it, and Accenture could keep a significant minority stake so that clients see continuity, according to the report. The review may not end in a deal.

Accenture and JPMorgan declined to comment to the FT. Reuters, which said it could not immediately verify the report, got no response from either company outside business hours. NDTV Profit and India Today also reported the sale review on Sunday.

A small piece of a $74 billion company

Accenture does not report China on its own. In its annual report for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 16, China sits inside Asia Pacific, the smallest of the company's three geographic markets. The filing does not break out results for China, Hong Kong or Taiwan.

Asia Pacific brought in $10.68 billion of revenue in fiscal 2026, about 14% of Accenture's $74.18 billion total, and grew 8% in local currency. Accenture credited Japan, Australia and Singapore for that growth. The region also became less profitable: its operating margin slipped to 16% from 18%, even as the company-wide margin rose to 15.4% from 14.7%. Operating income in Asia Pacific fell to $1.73 billion from $1.81 billion, though the region's margin is still above the company average.

The reported price tag is modest next to Accenture's cash flows. The company returned $11.5 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2026 and has said it expects to return at least $9.5 billion in fiscal 2027.

Why sell now

The review comes as Accenture rethinks where to spend money while investors argue over whether AI will lift or shrink demand for consultants, the report said. Chief Financial Officer Angie Park has indicated that leaving businesses and markets that miss the company's strategic or financial targets remains part of its approach, according to the newspaper.

China has also become harder ground for Western advisers. Tighter rules on handling sensitive information have pushed some Western professional-services firms to scale back there and separate their technology systems, which limits how closely they can link their China work with the rest of their networks, the newspaper reported.

Accenture told investors on Oct. 1 that it expects revenue to grow 3% to 6% in local currency in fiscal 2027. At its Oct. 14 investor day it set an ambition of mid-single-digit growth in fiscal 2027 and 2028, rising to mid to high single digits in 2029. It is leaning on acquisitions to get there: the investor day presentation estimated that bought businesses will add about 2% to 2.5% to revenue in fiscal 2027, up from about 1.5% in fiscal 2026. Its recent cyber acquisitions, including Dragos, closed in the current quarter, the presentation said. Money from a China sale could help pay for deals that add AI skills, as well as buybacks and dividends, the report said.

What a sale would signal

The money involved would be small for Accenture, and the company has not said how much revenue the China business brings in. What a sale would show is a willingness to pull back from a market that has grown harder to operate in, in a region whose margins are slipping, while Accenture spends heavily to reposition for AI work. Because Accenture may keep a minority stake, a sale would not necessarily mean a full exit from China.