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Car Electronics Systems Company Pioneer Bought by Hong-Kong Fund

7Dec By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Car Electronics Systems Company Pioneer Bought by Hong-Kong Fund

Japanese electronics firm Pioneer become a wholly owned unit of a Hong Kong-based fund in a deal worth $904 million. Pioneer, known for its audio equipment as well as car electronics systems, said Baring Private Equity Asia has agreed on a 102-billion-yen ($904 million) plan to revive the struggling Tokyo-based company. Baring will make a 77-billion-yen investment in Pioneer, along with a 25-billion-yen offer to buy existing shares from shareholders. "These steps will secure working capital vital for Pioneer's business operations," a joint statement from the two firms said. "Once privatised, a range of significant changes will be made to revitalise Pioneer, including reviews of the company's business lines as well as structural reforms and an overhaul of the management team," i...

AllOut Co-founder Anil Arya to Acquire a Dairy Tech Firm

30Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

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AllOut Co-founder Anil Arya to Acquire a Dairy Tech Firm

The co-founder of mosquito repellent brand AllOut Anil Arya who sold his company in 2005, is reportedly making a comeback with an acquisition. The entrepreneur is taking over a dairy tech startup known as Mr. Milkman. Along with some other investors, Arya is setting up a company in Singapore to acquire the whole of the Gurgaon-based startup. “We will be investing in Mr. Milkman through our family office in Singapore,” Arya said. Beyond this, he did not disclose any more details. Samartha Setia, founder of Mr. Milkman, too confirmed that Arya will be investing in the company. “I cannot disclose the details of the investment at the moment,” said Setia. Milkman is a startup that was founded a year ago which serves as an enabler for dairy players, managing their entire business includin...

IT Firm TCS Buys Out Consulting Company BridgePoint

29Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

IT Firm TCS Buys Out Consulting Company BridgePoint

The popular IT services company TCS has reportedly acquired a consulting firm specializing in retirement services known as BridgePoint Group. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. The company stated that the acquisition would boost its financial services and insurance domain knowledge, particularly in the area of US retirement services. “The US retirement business is complex, so BridgePoint’s deep industry expertise and team of highly experienced consultants will enable TCS to develop a robust customer-focused retirement services business,” Suresh Muthuswami, President & Global Head, BFSI Platform, TCS said in a statement. It was earlier this month that TCS acquired London-based W12 Studios which was its first digital acquisition. On the other hand, the acq...

Amazon in Talks to Buy out Kishore Biyani’s Future Group

27Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Amazon in Talks to Buy out Kishore Biyani’s Future Group

Future Group’s founder Kishore Biyani is negotiating an agreement with Amazon that will offer the company the option to buy him out in the future. Both sides are drafting a call and put option in their share purchase agreement that will allow Amazon to call for Biyani’s stake in flagship Future Retail Limited (FRL) over the long term, possibly as much as 8-10 years, subject to Indian laws. FRL operates all food and grocery stores such as Big Bazaar, Easy Day and Nilgiris. Biyani and Amazon are close to finalising the first leg of their agreement wherein the Seattle-headquartered retailer will buy up to 9.5% stake in FRL through the foreign portfolio investor (FPI) route. As promoters, Biyani and his family members own 46.51% of the company, of which 40.3% is pledged as per September ...

HDFC Ergo Eyeing to acquire Apollo Munich Health Insurance

26Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

HDFC Ergo Eyeing to acquire Apollo Munich Health Insurance

HDFC Ergo General Insurance is in advanced talks to acquire Apollo Munich Health Insurance for around Rs 2,600 crore. This acquisition will see the exit of German reinsurance company Munich Re. Munich Re holds 49% stake in Apollo Munich while Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals, promoted by Prathap C Reddy and his family, holds 51% stake in the second-largest standalone health insurance provider in the country. HDFC Ergo, arm of housing finance firm HDFC, is 49% owned by Ergo International AG, an insurance unit of Munich Re, and 51% by HDFC. In 2016, HDFC Ergo had acquired L&T General Insurance to become the third-largest private sector general insurer in the country. Arpwood Capital is acting as an exclusive advisor to both target and buyer. Separately, UK's development finance...

Logitech Eyeing to Take Over US based Tech Firm Plantronics

24Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Logitech Eyeing to Take Over US based Tech Firm Plantronics

The popular Swiss manufacturer of keyboards and webcams, Logitech is reportedly in talks to acquire and take over a U.S. maker of Bluetooth earpieces and gaming headsets known as Plantronics. If the deal goes through, it would be Logitech's largest acquisition and would illustrate the company's push to diversify its business. It would come as Logitech and Plantronics seek to keep down manufacturing costs following the introduction of tariffs on imports from China into the United States. For this purpose, the company has offered more than $2.2 billion to acquire Plantronics as stated by a source. Plantronics had a market capitalization of about $2 billion. If the acquisition is confirmed, a deal between Logitech and Plantronics could come as early as next week, cautioning that it w...

US-based Ness Digital Eyeing to Acquire two Firms in Cloud Space

22Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

US-based Ness Digital Eyeing to Acquire two Firms in Cloud Space

US-based Ness Digital Engineering which is a digital engineering services firm is in advanced talks to acquire two companies in the cloud space. Also, the firm is planning to hire 1000 people to its workforce over the next year. “We completed one acquisition in April… we are in discussion with two other potential partners in the cloud space and expand footprint in the US,” said chief executive of Ness Digital Engineering, Paul Lombordo. Prior to this, the company acquired Linium, focused in digital operations in the ServiceNow platform, earlier this year. The CEO also mentioned that there is a convergence of work involving infrastructure skills (like AWS, Azure, and Google) with SaaS platforms (think Salesforce.com and ServiceNow) in the digital economy. Also, their design expertise h...

US-based Autodesk to Acquire PlanGrid for $875 million

21Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

US-based Autodesk to Acquire PlanGrid for $875 million

The American software company Autodesk has announced its plans to acquire PlanGrid for $875 million. Autodesk which is based in San Francisco helped move blueprints from paper to the iPad when it launched in 2011. “There is a huge opportunity to streamline all aspects of construction through digitization and automation. The acquisition of PlanGrid will accelerate our efforts to improve construction workflows for every stakeholder in the construction process,” CEO Andrew Anagnost stated. PlanGrid has excelled at building beautiful, simple field collaboration software, and on the other hand, Autodesk has focused on connecting design to construction. Together, these companies can drive greater productivity and predictability on the jobsite. PlanGrid currently has 400 employees, 12,000 cu...

Cure.fit Acquires a Bengaluru-based Mental Health Platform

20Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Cure.fit Acquires a Bengaluru-based Mental Health Platform

The popular healthcare startup Cure.fit has reportedly acquired a Bengaluru-based mental health platform Seraniti. Following the acquisition, the company will have over 70 centres for this vertical. Also, with this, it is trying to boost its mental wellness business Mind.fit. As a part of the deal, Cure.fit will onboard Seraniti's team of 15 therapists and its 8,000 customers. Seraniti is Cure.fit's second acquisition for the mental wellness vertical after the integration of a1000 yoga in 2017. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, however, Ankit Nagori, cofounder of Cure.fit stated that the company paid off the angel investors who had invested in Seraniti. "We believe the acquisition is a win-win for all our clients, as it will improve convenience (eight addit...

Blackberry Acquires California-based AI Firm for $1.4 billion

19Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Blackberry Acquires California-based AI Firm for $1.4 billion

The phone maker BlackBerry has raised its bets on artificial intelligence and cyber-security. The company has acquired a California-based machine-learning specialist known as Cylance. The deal has been finalised for $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 10,063 crores). Blackberry, the Canadian technology company which dominated the smartphone market a decade eaelier has shifted to selling software to manage mobile devices, as well as emerging sectors like autonomous cars. Cylance will continue to operate as a separate business unit after the deal closes and this deal is expected to close by Feb 2019. The acquired company Cylance uses machine learning to prevent security breaches before they occur. Its applications seek to block malware or infiltration attempts rather than react after a breach...

Visa Acquires Minority Stake in an Indian Payment Gateway Firm

17Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

News

Visa Acquires Minority Stake in an Indian Payment Gateway Firm

The popular US-based payments processor Visa is acquiring a minority stake in Mumbai-based BillDesk. This acquisition will make BillDesk the newcomer in India’s Unicorn club of private technology companies valued at over $1 billion. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, however, it is expected to value the 18-year-old company at $1.8 billion. The transaction involves a primary investment of about $200 million with a secondary purchase of shares from existing investors and founders of $80-100 million matter. This could take the total investment to about $300 million. Visa’s investment in help BillDesk develop new product lines for its payment and loyalty businesses and expand its footprint into other geographies, according to a statement from Visa. The investment wi...

Microsoft Acquires an Austin-based Software Developer

15Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Microsoft Acquires an Austin-based Software Developer

The international technology giant Microsoft has reportedly acquired an Austin-based software developer called Xoxco. This acquisition has marked the fourth AI-related company Microsoft has purchased this year. Founded in 2009, Xoxco has raised $1.5 million. It began working on bots in 2013, and is credited with developing the first bot for Slack to help schedule meetings. However, the financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. “Today, we are announcing we have signed an agreement to acquire Xoxco, a software product design and development studio known for its conversational AI and bot development capabilities,” Lili Cheng stated. With this move, Microsoft is continuing to realize our approach of democratizing AI development, conversation and dialog, and integrating conver...