Cognizant to acquire Mirabeau BV

IT Services firm Cognizant will acquire privately held Mirabeau BV, a digital marketing and customer experience agency for an undisclosed amount. With the close of the acquisition, about 260 specialists from Mirabeau will become part of the Digital Business Practice at Cognizant, which has a majority of its workforce in India.

Mirabeau’s acquisition will expand Cognizant’s digital business capabilities in the Netherlands and across Europe, Cognizant said in statement. “Companies in consumer-facing sectors are increasing their investments in interactive solutions to provide better, more personalized experiences to their customers.”

To help clients drive growth, Cognizant Digital Business links social science research, digital strategy services, design thinking, marketing services, analytics, IoT products and services, cloud applications, and interactive content management. Mirabeau further strengthens Cognizant’s ability to work with clients to identify important insights, develop strategies, and then design prototype, and scale meaningful product and service experiences.

Based in Amsterdam, Mirabeau specializes in verticals like travel and hospitality, financial services, retail, and B2B sectors. Its clients include brands such as KLM, ING, Air France, Maxeda, MoneYou, LeasePlan.com, and Transavia. Leveraging its comprehensive design, branding and technology expertise, Mirabeau helps clients develop and implement their digital marketing strategies and build engaging omnichannel customer experiences.

Bharat Forge to buy Walker Forge Tennessee

Auto components major Bharat Forge will buy US based Walker Forge Tennessee (WFT) for $14 Million (around Rs 95 crore), a move aimed at expanding its product range in automotive and other industrial segments.

The acquisition of Walker Forge Tennessee creates a strategic manufacturing footprint in North America to leverage existing customer relationships while simultaneously enabling the company to address new end-market segments and broaden the product portfolio. The proposed acquisition is focused on increasing the company’s product offering in the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments as well into industrial sectors such as construction and mining.

WFT is a leading supplier of complex, steel and high-alloy steel, engine and chassis components to a diverse group of customers across automotive and industrial sectors. The US firm is expected to record revenues of $28 million this year with a balanced revenue mix across the automotive and industrial sectors. The proposed transaction will be consummated upon completion of certain conditions and regulatory approvals.

Facebook buys FacioMetrics

Facebook has bought facial recognition start-up FacioMetrics, potentially using the technology for photo or video effects to better challenge rival Snapchat. How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow people to express themselves in fun and creative ways.

Silicon Valley-based Facebook did not disclose financial terms of the deal to buy FacioMetrics, which was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. FacioMetrics was founded in 2015 and specializes in using artificial intelligence to give facial image analysis capabilities to applications that run on smartphones.

The technology has potential in a host of applications, including those focused on animation, measuring audience reactions, and virtual or augmented realities. Using FacioMetrics to let users of Facebook, or subsidiaries such as Instagram, have fun with photos or video could be a counter-move to those kinds of features offered in “filters” at vanishing message service Snapchat.

Parent company Snap estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day. Since trying unsuccessfully to buy Southern California-based Snapchat several years ago, Facebook has turned to cloning popular features.

Samsung to acquire Harman

Samsung is increasing its focus on the connected car after the Korean firm plans to buy auto and audio product maker Harman in an all cash deal worth $8 Billion. Samsung lags Google and Apple on in-car entertainment and software systems (Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, respectively) so this deal will give it the kind of reach that could allow it to compete more evenly with its rivals inside the car.

You may best associate the name with audio equipment, but Harman is big on cars, too. The acquisition is Samsung’s largest to date and a big deal for its automotive ambitions. Around 65 percent of Harman’s sales — which totaled $7 billion over the last year — were for car-related products. Samsung added that Harman products, which included connected car devices and audio systems, are installed in an estimated 30 million vehicles worldwide.

With Google rapidly advancing its automotive technology and Apple reportedly developing an electic vehicle (or not), it is perhaps not surprising that Samsung has made ground on automotive itself in 2016. This summer, it invested $450 Million into China based electric Car maker BYD, which includes Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. among its investor base. Other Reports suggested that the Korean giant was also eyeing up a bid for Magneti Marelli, a manufacturing subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler.

This investment will go beyond automotive, though, according to Samsung. The firm said it plans to marry its own electronics division and expertise with that of Harman for audio — both on the consumer and professional side of business — and connected devices, aka the internet of things, or IOT for short.

Paytm acqui-hires Shopsity

Paytm, India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform has acquired the team at Shopsity, a Delhi based startup that offered O2O solutions to small retail stores. This move is in line with Paytm vision to create strong seller focused services to its offline merchants.

Shopsity is focused on small unorganized retailers, providing them with tools to attract and retain customers. Paytm is actively working to strengthen seller services for the 800,000 strong offline sellers on the Paytm ecosystem. Launched in March 2015, Shopsity is an O2O mobile platform, where you get to see what’s selling in stores nearby. During July last year, the platform had raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Shopclues and Droom, and Netprice.

In July, Paytm started accepting payments at retail chains like Spencer’s Retail, Heritage Fresh, More, WH Smith, Kendriya Bhandar, V2 Retail, Value Plus and Pai International (Pai Mobile). This followed its tie-up with quick-service-restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Cafe Coffee Day, Costa Coffee, Barista, Vaango, among others. Paytm claims to have 125 million wallets.

In September, Paytm had acqui-hired EduKart, an e-learning marketplace for an undisclosed amount. In January this year, Paytm acquired Shifu, a consumer behavior prediction platform for an undisclosed amount. A month before that, the company acquired Gurgaon-based services marketplace Near.in for $2 million.

Go-Jek acquires LeftShift Technologies

Indonesian Bike hailing app Go-Jek has acquired Pune based app development company LeftShift Technologies Pvt. Ltd for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its product development efforts, making its fourth acquisition of an Indian firm.

It helped more than 200 companies design and develops mobile apps, including companies such as BookMyShow, Practo, OYO, Byju’s Classes, Airtel and Emerson. It also counted Go-Jek as one of its customers. The product development centre, which has about 60 employees now, comprises developers, data scientists, designers and product managers who work on mining data and delivering better experiences for consumers.

Go-Jek had earlier acquired Bengaluru-based home healthcare start-up Pianta in August. In February, the firm announced that it bought Bengaluru-based software engineering company C42 Engineering India Pvt. Ltd and Delhi-based development and operations company CodeIgnition Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd for engineering talent. These deals are so-called acqui-hires, which is jargon for an acquisition made to gain access to the employees of the acquired company.

Go-Jek offers stock options to the employees of its acquired companies that vest over four years. Go-Jek was started by Harvard graduate in 2011 and is the first Indonesian start-up to achieve the “unicorn” status after a $550 million funding round in August led by KKR and Warburg Pincus.

Zensar Technologies acquires Foolproof

Zensar Technologies Ltd, part of the RP Goenka Group, had agreed to buy user experience (UX) design agency Foolproof Ltd. London-based Foolproof helps global brands design products based on an understanding of consumer behavior.

Founded in 2002, Foolproof has around 100 employees in its offices in Norwich, Singapore and London. The acquisition gives Zensar access to Foolproof’s clientele across sectors such as banking and financial services, retail, high technology and oil and gas. Foolproof’s market leadership in experience design and the strong management team at its helm are strategic to Zensar’s plan to increase market share in this increasingly important space.

The acquisition will fortify Zensar’s digital offerings and furthers the company’s ability to work with chief marketing officers and chief digital officers to improve outcomes for their customers and to drive innovation through design. Foolproof will operate under its own brand name and will continue to be managed by founders peter Ballard and Tom Wood.

Headquartered in Pune, IT services company Zensar caters to global clients in the manufacturing, retail and hi-tech businesses. The firm employs more than 8,000 people at 29 locations around the globe. For the financial year 2015-16, Zensar reported revenue of Rs 1,245.9 crore, up from Rs 1,079.9 crore in the previous year, and a profit of Rs 234.2 crore, up from Rs 183.1 crore.

BroEx acquires REXPROP

BroEx, a mobile based property broker’s network, has acquired Real Estate technology startup REXPROP for an undisclosed amount to expand business and provide better products to its clients.

Gurgaon-based REXPROP or 'Real Estate Property Exchange' is a startup which offers solutions such as inventory distribution, broker to broker listings and CRM for property consultants, agents, brokers and developers. Earlier this year, BroEx had acquired independent broker company Professional Brokers. It had also tied up with real estate consultant JLL India's housing arm for getting access to exclusive deals.

REXPROP has developed innovative offerings around listing management and CRM for real estate brokers which compliment BroEx. BroEx is being used by more than 1.5 lakh real estate brokers, he said, adding that this deal would further enhance its offering and cement position as the go-to software for the brokerage industry.

BroEx, which had raised $1 million as seed funding, helps real estate brokers to serve their customers better and close deals faster. It also provides inventory information to FastFox.Com - rental brokerage service by its parent company OkuTech. OkuTech is founded by IIT alumni and funded by LightSpeed Venture Partners.

CenturyLink to buy Level 3 Communications

CenturyLink Inc. agreed to buy Level 3 Communications Inc. for about $34 Million in cash and stock, creating a more formidable competitor to AT&T Inc. in the market to handle heavy Internet traffic for businesses.

Both companies have amassed giant networks to haul internet traffic through deals over the years. Level 3 is one of the largest providers used by internet services including Netflix Inc. and Google to route traffic across the web, operations that would bolster CenturyLink core offerings to businesses. Level 3 was the second-biggest US provider of Ethernet services—running high-bandwidth internet connections for companies—in the first half of this year, trailing only AT&T, according to Vertical Systems Group Inc. CenturyLink was fifth on the list.

CenturyLink, which has been exploring the sale of its data center business, is one of the biggest phone companies in the US, formed after CenturyTel Inc. bought Embarq Corp. in 2009 and acquired Qwest Communications International Inc. two years later. Both companies have contended with growing competition from cable providers and other smaller rivals offering internet and phone connections for businesses. 

CenturyLink, which also offers residential landline phone and internet services in cities such as Phoenix and Seattle, gets about two-thirds of its revenue from business customers. The acquisition is one of the biggest telecommunications deals of the year. Level 3 had a market value of $19.4 billion and has about $11 billion in debt. CenturyLink was valued at about $16.6 billion and has about $19 billion in debt.