Business mergers and Acquisition, Ericsson - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: CEO

Explanation:
Swedish mobile telecoms gear maker Ericsson has parted ways with CEO Hans Westberg on 25th July, 2016 following a series of bad results.

• Vestberg came under fire for leadership and pay factors after weak results, though he has served longer than any of his three predecessors.
• Ericsson shares went up 3 percent in 1230 GMT, losing 21 percent so far this year.
• The removal of the CEO was taken as a positive step by the markets therefore.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
NYSE listed technology firm Synnex Corporation has acquired Bengaluru based BPO firm Minacs for USD 420 million in a deal underlining consolidation in the business process management space.

• Buyout also showcases the efforts in the BPM sector to gravitate towards higher end services and capabilities like analytics
• PE firms CX Partners and Capital Square Partners which purchased Minaca from the Aditya Birla Group are exiting the firm.
• This acquisition is Synnex’s second biggest in India.
• In 2013, it had acquired BPO firm IBM Daksh for USD 505 million.

ANSWER: Forever 21

Explanation:
Kumar Mangalam Birla led Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail has acquired Indian business of international clothing brand “Forever 21” from Diana Retail Pvt Ltd, the US based company’s local franchise partner for over INR 175 crore or USD 26 million.

• Transaction involved acquisition of the Forever 21 Undertaking of Diana Retail from July 1 through business transfer agreement and not share transfer.
• Consideration for acquisition is USD 26 million
• Forever 21 will form part of the Madura Fashion & Lifestyle division
• Forever 21 is among the fastest growing fashion retailers in the world with a network of more than 700 stores worldwide.

ANSWER: Ericsson

Explanation:
Swedish communication technology MNC Ericsson launched the 5G plug ins to meet 5G use cases.

• Ericsson 5G Plug ins include MIMO plug in, multiuser MIMO plug in, RAN virtualisation plug-in, intelligent connectivity plug in and latency reduction plug in.
• These plugins are supported by Ericsson Radio System and focused on capabilities that operators can leverage within current networks to encourage transition to 5G

ANSWER: HelloTech

Explanation:
Los Angeles-based startup HelloTech and rival in-home tech support company Geekatoo said that they had merged, in a sign of consolidation in the hotly competitive on-demand sector.

• HelloTech will combine its network of about 150 college students who provide on-demand tech repair to Southern California consumers with Geekatoo's US network of about 5,000 technicians, the companies said in a joint statement.
• The merger connects HelloTech with Geekatoo's national market and provides Geekatoo with more access to venture capital funding, HelloTech co-founder Richard Wolpert said in an interview.
• HelloTech, which launched about a year ago, has raised $17 million from investors, while 5-year-old Geekatoo has raised close to $3 million.

ANSWER: Knowlarity Communications

Explanation:
Cloud telephony company Knowlarity Communications on May 9th 2016 acquired Delhi based Smartwards, a customer engagement platform that simplifies loyalty for local businesses and their consumers

• As per the statement, Shantanu Mathur and Dhanraj Singh Bisht- co founders of Smartwards will lead the Indian operations for Knowlarity
• Smartwards started operation in 2013

ANSWER: Volob Technologies

Explanation:
GirnarSoft, the parent company of auto classifieds portal CarDekho.com, has acquired virtual reality startup Volob Technologies in an all-cash deal, the company announced on May 3rd.

• This is the eight such transaction entered into by GirnarSoft, which has emerged as one of the most active players in the Indian startup M&A leaderboard over the past 18 months, and comes less than a week after it announced its acquisition of SaaS startup Connecto.
• Founded in 2010 by Tarun Kumar and Shweta Jain, Volob Technologies provides 3D visualisation solutions to various industries, primarily automotive, according to a company-issued statement.

ANSWER: Hitachi

Explanation:
The partnership is to provide joint services to global clients and the market. Part of the collaboration involves joint provision of value to clients by Hitachi and Virtusa through increase in operational and technology efficiency and enhancing functionality

• Hitachi provides IT solutions through combination of various products and services internationally.
• Both firms have been working together since 2015.

ANSWER: Magicbricks

Explanation:
Realty portal Magicbricks has acquired property analysis platform Properji for a non disclosed amount and plants to come up with reports for more than 10,000 projects in 6 metros which will help buyers in making the right decision. Magicbricks dot com has acquired Invact Technologies which runs the realty portal. This marks the first acquisition by Magicbricks dot com.

ANSWER: Decision Resources Group

Explanation:
US based subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises has acquired Adaptive Software for total potential consideration of INR 165 crore. Decision Resources Group, the completely owned subsidiary has made the announcement for the acquisition of assets of Adaptive Software LLC and control and ownership of its subsidiary AdaptiveRx LLC. Amount of USD 7.4 million was paid on closing date. Through this acquisition, DRG will enter healthcare payer ecosystem.