Hardware

Panasonic to acquire Blue Yonder for $5.6B

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April 27, 2021

Panasonic Corp. has agreed to acquire Blue Yonder, an end-to-end, digital fulfillment platform provider, according to a press release. Panasonic will purchase 80% of shares for $5.6 billion of Blue Yonder, adding to the 20% which Panasonic acquired in July 2020.

Including repayment of outstanding debt the additional investment totals $7.1 billion, valuing Blue Yonder at $8.5 billion. An agreement to purchase the remaining shares of Blue Yonder was reached between Panasonic and the existing shareholders New Mountain Capital and funds managed by Blackstone.

The need for more intelligent, autonomous and edge-aware supply chains has been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of e-commerce and the proliferation of data, according to the press release. This acquisition strengthens Panasonic's portfolio and accelerates the companies' shared autonomous supply chain mission, which is to empower customers to optimize their supply chains using the combined power of AI/ML and IoT and edge devices.

By unifying supply, demand and commerce solutions with IoT and edge technologies, companies can better utilize predictive business insights to pivot their operations in real-time.