TOKYO (Reuters) - In its biggest acquisition in a decade, Panasonic Corp on Friday said it will buy U.S. supply-chain software company Blue Yonder in a deal worth $7.1 billion, to tap growing demand from companies as the COVID pandemic tests their resilience to disruption.
Panasonic, which bought a 20% stake in Blue Yonder for 86 billion yen ($797 million) last year, will acquire the rest of the stock from shareholders including Blackstone Group Inc and New Mountain Capital, in an agreement, including debt, that values Blue Yonder at $8.5 billion, the company said in a press release.
"The need for more intelligent, autonomous and edge-aware supply chains has been dramatically heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic," Panasonic said.