In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Verizon gained Senion, Spotify invested more in podcasts, and Hyundai Motor Company made moves in the robot market.
Verizon acquired Senion, incorporating its indoor positioning system (IPS)
Verizon has announced the acquisition of precise positioning company Senion.
The deal will incorporate Senion’s Indoor Positioning System (IPS), which uses machine-learning sensors for accurate indoor navigation, into Verizon’s location-based technology offerings.
Senion’s IPS can also be used by enterprise management to analyze the movement of people and/or machines within any space to optimize employee safety and efficiency.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Senion’s employees have joined Verizon’s Location Technology team, a division of its New Business Incubation.
Spotify seeks to improve user experience by purchasing Podz
Spotify, which has invested heavily in the growing podcast market, completed another acquisition.
This time the audio streaming giant purchased Podz, a company which uses machine learning to create preview clips from shows. The technology has been learned from over 100,000 hours of audio to identify and isolate key moments from episodes.
Spotify claims the addition will introduce listeners to new shows among the 2.6 million podcasts on its platform. This is in effort to “compliment and accelerate Spotify’s focused efforts to drive discovery and accelerate growth of the category worldwide.”
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Hyundai Motor Company gains robot maker Boston Dynamics
Hyundai Motor Group confirmed it has officially closed its acquisition of robot maker Boston Dynamics.
Hyundai paid previous owners Softbank $1.1 billion for an 80% controlling stake, with Softbank retaining the other 20%.
Google had acquired Boston Dynamics in 2013 and refocused the company from military contracts to AI-robot development; they then sold it to Softbank in 2017 for a reported $165 million.
According to the press release, the deal is expected to allow the Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics “to leverage each other’s respective strengths in manufacturing, logistics, construction and automation.”
In Other News
Other notable events this week include:
- NCR Corporation, a global enterprise technology provider for the financial, retail, and hospitality industries, has completed its acquisition of Cardtronics in an all-cash deal valued around $2.5 billion.
- Authentic Brands Group has struck a deal to purchase Heritage Brands from PVH corp. For approximately $220 million.
- Brunswick Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire marine electronics and sensors manufacturer Navico for $1.05 billion.
- CVisa Inc. announced that it is acquiring Swedish fintech startup Tink for more than $2 billion.
- BuzzFeed confirmed on Thursday that it is merging with special-purpose acquisition company 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc. to become a publicly traded company.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is exploring options to bolster the company’s streaming service offerings, including a potential tie-up with ViacomCBS or an acquisition of Roku.
- Fast-casual salad chain Sweetgreen has confidentiality filed for an initial public offering.
