Flipkart acquires Upstream Commerce

Flipkart has acquired an Israel based analytics start-up called Upstream Commerce, as India’s largest online retailer looks to help its massive seller base with services such as real-time pricing and product assortment information.

This is Flipkart’s second acquisition in as many months, after the Walmart-controlled e-commerce firm acquired Indian artificial intelligence start-up Liv.ai in August. The latest buyout will also enable Flipkart to have an outpost in Israel, which is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost start-up ecosystems.

Upstream, which counted Israel-based early-stage venture capital firm YL Ventures as its biggest investor prior to the buyout, currently builds cloud-based and automated competitive pricing products and solutions, among other things. With the Upstream acquisition, Flipkart will now have tech and talent presence across Asia, US and Israel, some of the key global hubs for innovation.

Earlier, Flipkart has held talks to buy a stake in Hotstar, Star India’s video streaming service, as part of a broader strategy from Flipkart to bet on video content and attract more Internet consumers and shoppers, without having to build an Amazon Prime Video-like streaming service from scratch.

Snapchat to acquire Cimagine

Messaging app Snapchat is buying Israeli augmented reality start-up Cimagine media for an estimated $30-40 Million, making Snapchat first acquisition in Israel. Cimagine developed true marker less augmented reality technology that allows users to virtually place furniture and appliances they wish to purchase in the space of their home, on their mobile devices, at the click of a button.

Cimagine will become Snapchat research and development centre in Israel and is expected to rapidly expand its workforce from its current 20 employees. The company’s highly skilled team is probably the main reason for the acquisition, rather than its technology. The company was founded in 2012 and has raised a few million dollars. Venice, California based Snapchat is expected to go public as early as March with a valuation of as much as $25 Billion.

Cimagine specializes in computer vision, real-time image processing, mobile development, international marketing, and more. All of these are obviously compelling for Snap, whose app Snapchat is heavily reliant on augmented reality and the like. But what Cimagine brings to the table is a focus on commerce and as Snap looks towards going public perhaps some time next year, it’s quite possible that doing facilitating shopping through Snapchat might open up additional revenue opportunities.

Cimagine already has partnerships with Shop Direct, John Lewis, and Coca-Cola and wants to help retailers tap into the potential of augmented reality. So Snap may want to eventually strike partnerships with big box retailers and department stores to accelerate engagement and time spent on site. Merchants and store owners may want additional advertising opportunities so the potential of what Cimagine’s technology and team could bring to bear may be enticing.

Teva to Buy Allergan Generics

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Israel. It specializes in primarily in generic drugs. It is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world and one of the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide. The Industry has agreed to buy Allergan generic drugs business for $40.5 Billion.

Allergan generic business is generally seen as a better fit than Teva previous target Mylan because it will improve Teva distribution channels and because Allergan is strong in bio similar drugs. At the same time, Teva dropped its $40 Billion bid for Mylan, which hit a snag when a Dutch foundation linked to Mylan bought temporarily control of half the company in an attempt to block the takeover.

Allergan Generic is expected to contribute about $2.7 Billion in earnings before interest, taxes, and other items next year. Following the completion of the acquisition, Teva is expected to have pro forma sales of approximately $26 Billion worldwide and cash flow of about $6.5 Billion in 2016. Teva expects a double digit increase in its non-GAAP earnings per share in 2016 due to the acquisition.

Teva is Israel largest drug company and has long been a source of pride for Israelis. The company dates back to 1901, when its founders launched a small importer of medications. According to the company’s website, it began producing drugs in the 1930s.