Accenture said Tuesday it will acquire Ookla, a Seattle-based provider of internet data products, from Ziff Davis, in a deal that Accenture said will give customers insights into network metrics that are increasingly critical in the age of artificial intelligence.

Both Accenture and Ziff Davis announced the deal, with the latter company stating the purchase price as $1.2 billion in cash.

Ookla's network intelligence and analytics include data products like Speedtest, Downdetector, Ekahau and RootMetrics.

Accenture said the acquisition will help communications service providers, or CSPs, hyperscalers and enterprises "optimize the mission-critical Wi-Fi and 5G networks that power their digital core."

"Network data is no longer just a lifeline for the telecoms industry; it now creates significant value across all sectors," according to Accenture. "As AI scales, the insights captured at the network, device, and application layers are essential to enhance fraud prevention in banking, smart home analytics in utilities, and traffic optimization in retail."

Ookla comes with a team of approximately 430 experts specializing in software engineering, radio frequency engineering and data science, Accenture said.

By comparison, Accenture, which "helps the world's leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise," said it has approximately 784,000 personnel.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals, Accenture said.

In a statement, Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis, called the deal transformative, "representing a significant realization of value for our shareholders and a concrete illustration of the quality of the businesses in our portfolio."

Evercore Group LLC and Citi served as Ziff Davis' financial advisers.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised Ziff Davis, led by partners David Klein, Andrew Norwich and Daniel Wolf.

Counsel information for Accenture was not immediately available.