US software company Blue Yonder to be acquired by Panasonic in biggest-since-2011 price of $6.5 billion

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic is set to buy supply-chain
software company Blue Yonder for a sum of 700 billion Yen ($6.5 billion) in
what, if substantialised, would be the former’s greatest acquisition so far.
Panasonic acquired a 20% stake in US software and consultancy firm Blue Yonder
in 2020 for the price of 86 billion Yen, and is reportedly in the final stages
of acquiring the rest of the stocks from the company’s shareholders.

 Controlling all the
stake, basically meaning an acquisition by Panasonic, would help the company
improve its supply chain management system, one of the key areas of Blue Yonder’s
operation, as per a report by Reuters.

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Known majorly for its service in areas such as electronic
appliances and related consumer services, Panasonic in recent years has focused
also on building parts and supplying services to other business organisations. One
such extension has been supplying batteries for cars manufactured by Tesla.

“This is not something that has been announced by our
company. It is not true that it is something we have decided,” Reuters quoted
Panasonic as saying in a statement.

Reportedly, the acquisition would be self-funded, although
loans or other modes of financing might also be considered.

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After getting the previous stake of 20%, Panasonic
strengthened its influence over Blue Yonder and even secured a seat in its
board.

It uses machine learning technology to easily handle supply
chain technologies and manage logistical pathways between factories, warehouses
and retail shops.