Rival Cloud Computing Firms Merge in $5.2 Billion Deal

​According to data supplied by Pitchbook, capital market activity last week featured 42 M&A deals, for a total of $11.2 billion in capital invested. Leading the way in total deals, nine of the companies involved last week are in the industrials vertical and received $2.2 billion. The Mid-Atlantic region received most interest with 12 deals, and the West Coast received the most consideration at $5.9 billion. Deals in the $100-500 million size range were most prevalent, accounting for 11 of the 20 disclosed deals. The following are a selection of major deals in Skyline’s core industry focuses:

• Rival cloud computing firms Hortonworks (Nasdaq: HDP) and Cloudera (NYSE: CLDR) announced an all-stock merger of equals, creating a combined equity value of $5.2 billion. Both companies operate in the cloud data management space, offering platforms for data analytics, engineering, and machine learning. The companies are both well known for packaging and commercializing the Hadoop open-source big data software.

• Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW), a company launched in 2005 during the age of firewalls, has agreed to pay $173 million to acquire RedLock to expand its cloud security business. RedLock’s Cloud360 platform provides cloud security for enterprises, utilizing AI to provide security insights, visibility, and anomaly detection.

• Google, on Tuesday, acquired a small chat automation startup, Onward, for an undisclosed sum. Onward leverages AI technology in its chat platform to allow organizations to automate customer service and sales workflows. The company’s chatbot can perform natural language processing to extract meaning from messages and draw on signals and cues to tailor responses.

• Italian coffee- and espresso-maker Lavazza has bought the coffee business of Mars, Inc. for $650 million to help grow its U.S. operations. As consumers have been moving away from sugary, processed drinks, many beverage companies have made plays into the hot beverage space, such as Coca-Cola and their recent acquisition of the U.K. chain Costa Coffee.
  

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• MedMen (CSE: MMEN), a California company trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange, announced its acquisition of Monarch, an Arizona cannabis cultivator and retailer. MedMen is an operator of dispensary locations in California, Nevada, New York, and Florida. The acquisition will help MedMen expand into one of the largest medical marijuana markets in the country with over 172,000 patients.