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, Morningstar gained full ownership of Sustainalytics, Microsoft bought Orions Systems to boost its Dynamics 365 platform and pharma company Alexion purchased Portola.

Morningstar buys remaining stakes in Sustainalytics

Investment research company Morningstar has struck a deal to acquire the remaining 60% stake in Sustainalytics. 

Sustainalytics, as its name suggests, conducts ratings on companies based on their environmental, social and governance data. The company conducts research on over 40,000 companies across 172 countries. 

Morningstar already held a 40% stake in Sustainalytics from an acquisition made in 2017.

Morningstar is purchasing the remaining 60% from seven other shareholders in a cash deal consisting of an initial payment of approximately 55 million Euros (nearly $60 million) and additional payments over the next two years based on Sustainalytics’ revenues. 

Morningstar estimates the total cost of the acquisition to be around 170 million Euros ($184.4 million). Sustainalytics 650 employees are expected to remain under current Sustainalytics leadership following the acquisition. 

Microsoft gains visions system vendor Orions Systems

Microsoft acquired vision system vendor Orions Systems to boost the capabilities of its newly announced Dynamics 365 platform, a product line of enterprise resource planning and CRM applications. 

Orion Systems produces AI-powered video analysis solutions based on machine-generated semantic data, which it patented as “tagonomy.”

The technology will be applied to Microsoft’s Dynamics Connected Store solution though cameras and IoT connected sensors which gauge a store’s stock, customer experience, and refrigeration temperatures. 

The acquisition is part of Microsoft’s initiative to bring in and enhance AI-driven data for brick and mortar retail. The financial terms of the deal have not been made public. 

Alexion acquired Portola

Pharma company Alexion, best known for its development of Soliris and immune system research related to autoimmune diseases, has agreed to acquire Portola for $1.4 billion ($18 per share). 

Portola is an American clinical stage biotechnology company that researches, develops, and commercializes drugs. Its primary product is Andexxa, a treatment used when reversal of anticoagulation is needed due to life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding. 

Last year, Andexxa generated $116.6 million in sales for Portola. Though Andexxa doesn’t quite fit Alexion’s portfolio of rare disease treatments, the injection of sales revenue could help the company which has yet to fully recover from a sales fraud probe which led to the removal of its CEO and CFO in December 2016. 

Alexion asserted that the deal would bring “near-term diversification” to its portfolio. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. 

In Other News

These weren’t the only major developments from the past week. Check out what else is happening:

• Uber Technologies Inc. has made an all-stock deal to acquire meal delivery service Postmates, Inc., the number-four player in the food delivery industry, for $2.65 billion. 

• Constellation Brands Inc. has bought direct-to-consumer wine brand Empathy Wines, the brainchild of entrepreneur and media personality Gary Vaynerchuk.

• Two New York-based banks, Bridge Bancorp and Dime Community Bancshares, have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger deal valued at $489 million. 

• Google has acquired augmented reality (AR) glasses company North in a deal estimated around $180 million.

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. has announced plans to acquire interactive home fitness company MIRROR for $500 million. 

• U.S. insurance giant Allstate Corporation is acquiring property liability insurer National General Holdings Corp. for $4 billion in cash.

• According to The Information, Microsoft Corporation is looking to strengthen its Xbox gaming unit by acquiring the games division of AT&T’s Warner Bros. 

• One of the oldest men’s clothiers in the country, Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past Wednesday, July 8,  crumbling under the pressure from the coronavirus pandemic like several retailers before it. 

• Cirque du Soleil, the producer of a number of Las Vegas acrobatic shows and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world, has filed for bankruptcy protection.