Ziff Davis soars 74% after Accenture buys unit for $1.2B

Shares of Ziff Davis jumped on Tuesday after the digital media and internet company agreed to sell its connectivity division to Accenture in a $1.2 billion all-cash transaction.

The deal values the unit at more than Ziff Davis’s recent market capitalisation, underscoring the scale of the divestment and prompting a strong positive reaction from investors.

The stock jumped 74% to $48.82 in midday trading, after touching a 52-week high of $50.55.

Over the past year, the shares have been up 22%, reversing a prolonged period of weakness.

By contrast, shares in Accenture slipped 0.6% but gained later in the session and were up by over 3% at 11:47 am.

The consulting firm’s stock has fallen 39% over the past 12 months amid investor concerns that artificial intelligence-driven efficiencies could dampen demand for traditional consulting services.

Connectivity unit at heart of deal

Under the agreement, Accenture will acquire Ziff Davis’ internet connectivity platform Ookla, which includes brands such as Speedtest, Downdetector, Ekahau and RootMetrics.

The business provides network performance insights and outage monitoring tools used by telecom operators, enterprises and consumers worldwide.

Accenture said the acquisition would enhance its ability to offer end-to-end network intelligence services to clients, particularly as they roll out AI-driven transformation initiatives.

“With the Ookla portfolio, we will offer end-to-end network intelligence services essential for AI-based transformation,” said Manish Sharma, chief strategy and services officer at Accenture.

The connectivity division generated roughly $231 million in revenue last year, accounting for about 16% of Ziff Davis’ total revenue in 2025.

The unit benefited from the global 5G rollout and a pandemic-era surge in bandwidth demand.

Ziff Davis will continue to operate the division until the transaction closes, which is expected in the coming months.

Windfall relative to market value

The $1.2 billion price tag represents a significant windfall for Ziff Davis.

As of Monday, the company had a market capitalisation of approximately $1.1 billion, meaning it sold a single business line for more than the equity value of the entire group before the announcement.

Chief executive Vivek Shah described the sale as transformative.

“This is a transformative deal for Ziff Davis, representing a significant realisation of value for our shareholders and a concrete illustration of the quality of the businesses in our portfolio,” he said.

The company said proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes and capital allocation activities, in line with its debt agreements.

Deal in line with portfolio streamlining

The transaction continues a broader streamlining strategy under Shah, who has overseen several portfolio changes since 2017.

These included the 2021 spin-off of Consensus Cloud Solutions and the 2022 sale of the Policygenius insurance brokerage.

The deal comes just days after Ziff Davis shares had slumped following weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

The company reported net income of $370,000, or 1 cent per share, compared with $64.1 million, or $1.43 per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, earnings were $2.56 per share, below analyst expectations of $2.70.

Revenue fell 1.5% to $406.7 million, missing forecasts of $416.7 million.

While connectivity revenue rose 11% and health and wellness sales increased 8.6%, the technology and shopping segment saw an 18% decline.