Panasonic Announces The Largest Purchase In 10 Years

Blue Yonder has more than 3,000 customers, including major companies such as Walmart, Unilever and Starbucks.

Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic announced the purchase of Blue Yonder, which specializes in supply chain management software. The deal is worth $710,000,000 including debt, writes DailyComm.

Under the terms of the agreement, Panasonic is buying 80% of Blue Yonder from a group of current shareholders of the American developer, including New Mountain Capital and Blackstone. Panasonic had owned the remaining 20% of the company since 2020, when the Japanese corporation invested about $800 million in Blue Yonder.

Panasonic says its acquisition of Blue Yonder will help strengthen its supply chain, which is being severely tested by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Blue Yonder has more than 3,000 customers, including major companies such as Walmart, Unilever and Starbucks.

Blue Yonder develops supply chain management software and uses AI algorithms to predict product demand. The company’s annual revenue exceeds $ 1 billion. With the sale of 80% of Blue Yonder shares for $ 71000000, the entire company is valued at $ 8500000000.

Panasonic plans to close the deal by the end of 2021. It will be partly paid by the buyer’s own funds. Panasonic intends to raise the remaining amount from creditors.

The agreement with Blue Yonder will become the largest acquisition of Panasonic for the last 10 years. The record purchase was made in 2011 when the Japanese company spent 800 billion yen to fully own the subsidiaries of Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works.

In recent years, Panasonic has shifted its focus to supplying components and services to other companies, including electric car maker Tesla Motors, Reuters noted.

Blue Yonder was initially called JDA Software, rebranded in February 2020.

It’s worth noting that demand for supply chain management software, which Blue Yonder specializes in, increases as more equipment manufacturers digitize their operations. In 2019, turnover in this market was about $15 billion, and revenue is expected to grow by about 10 percent annually going forward.