UPDATE: Panasonic to pay $7.1bn for supply chain software specialist Blue Yonder

Panasonic has paid $ 7.1 billion to acquire US supply chain software company Blue Yonder in a deal that highlights the changing global business environment of Pandemic and the resurgence of overseas acquisitions by Japanese companies.

Under agreement Announced on friday, Panasonic will be built on a 20% stake acquired in Bruyonder last year. The company will buy the rest of the company from private equity group Blackstone and New Mountain Capital in a deal with a target of $ 8.5 billion, including debt.

The epidemic of supply chain disruptions has increased the demand for software that helps companies manage logistics and shipments, causing the US Group’s corporate value to skyrocket from $ 5.5 billion a year ago. Earlier this month, Blue Yonder revealed that it was preparing to publish after submitting documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For Panasonic, this agreement will allow Blue Yonder’s software to be combined with traditional businesses that sell hardware such as security cameras. This is the Group’s largest overseas acquisition and the first acquisition under the new CEO Yuki Kusumi, who took office this month.

With over $ 1 billion in revenue last year, Blue Yonder serves 3,000 customers, including Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Caterpillar and Best Buy.

Software is a weakness for Japanese hardware companies and is driving rival Hitachi How to buy Global Logic, Silicon Valley software engineering company, last year was $ 9.5 billion.

Prior to the pandemic, outbound mergers and acquisitions by Japanese companies were growing strongly, including 2016 SoftBank’s $ 31 billion acquisition of British chip designer Arm and Takeda’s $ 62 billion acquisition of Shire. A series of record years and groundbreaking mega deals. In 2019.

According to bankers, the transaction had a consistent pattern. Companies that have been forced to seek growth and disruptive technologies developed in the United States and elsewhere due to Japan’s declining population have urged them to pursue M & A in order to remain competitive. The third source of pressure on many Japanese companies is the demand for higher returns.

The pandemic, which restricted international travel and made practical due diligence more difficult, caused a sharp slowdown in outbound trading in 2020.

However, in the first quarter of 2021, Bank of America analysts said in a memo this week that Japan’s overseas trading had a surprising comeback. The company undertook a total of $ 29 billion in cross-border M & A. This is the highest amount from January to March in recent years and includes a record 110 transactions.

Panasonic to pay $7.1bn for supply chain software specialist Blue Yonder Source link Panasonic to pay $7.1bn for supply chain software specialist Blue Yonder

Source: California News Times