M&A roundup - week ending 8/1/15

HP buys the Stackato business from ActiveState; Razer purchased OUYA; Viber scooped up NextPeer

HP agreed to buy the Stackato business from ActiveState, a provider of enterprise development solutions. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. 

Stackato is a platform for enterprise IT departments and developers, based on various open source projects, including Cloud Foundry and Docker.

HP has acquired all Stackato-related assets. Stackato team members will become employees of HP's Cloud business and will continue working on Stackato. Stackato customers are still able to use it under the same terms as before and will largely be serviced by the same staff they already know. Some details such as email addresses, phone numbers, and ticketing systems will probably change, but the basics will all be the same.

ActiveState will continue as a company and will retain all of its other products including ActivePerl, ActivePython, ActiveTcl, and Komodo IDE.

Gaming hardware company Razer purchased software assets and team from Android-based game console manufacturer OUYA. Terms of the deal, which closed on June 12, were undisclosed.

Razer will eventually provide existing OUYA users with a clear path of migration to the more advanced Forge TV micro-console and Serval controller bundle. Razer’s intention is to allow OUYA users to bring their games, controllers, and accounts to the Cortex TV platform on the Forge micro-console, advancing the experience of Android gaming on TV that they have previously enjoyed.

Additionally, Razer is planning deep product discounts for incoming OUYA users to purchase Razer hardware, and a spate of freebies, giveaways, and promotions to enjoy on their new Forge consoles. 

The OUYA store acquired by Razer will be re-launched as Cortex for Android TV, a premier destination for Razer Forge TV games and other content.

While Razer is not retaining interest in OUYA hardware or related other assets, it does plan to publish Android TV content and Android-based TV console games under the OUYA moniker as a separate interest.

Latterly, a startup publishing narrative journalism online acquired Compass Cultura, a website that publishes narrative travel journalism. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Current subscribers of Compass Cultura will be Latterly subscribers as of the August issue. Nothing will change for them other than having to reset their passwords.  Nothing will change for Latterly subscribers, either. New subscriptions will be just $3 per month.

The purchase will double Latterly’s subscriber base and sustaining its business model into next year. 

Legacy Republic, a business division of YesVideo that is building a freelance workforce to help families digitize their photos and videos, acquired Yarly, a company that provides professional support for organizing their photos. No financial terms of the acquisition were  disclosed.

The purchase allows Legacy Republic to grow its team of Legacy Makers. Yarly’s CEO and founder Allison Strouse will be joining Legacy Republic as an executive adviser. 

Founded in 2012, Yarly had raised just $25,000 in venture funding.

French transportation company Chauffeur-Privé bought ride-sharing company Djump. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Djump shut down its service in Paris, Lyon and Brussels following protests over Uber's peer-to-peer "UberPOP" service in Paris. Chauffeur-Privé Djump's teams and clients.

Since Djump drivers were not professionals, it won’t be possible to make them work for Chauffeur-Privé as the French company focuses on professional limo-style drivers only. Acquiring Djump’s team means that Chauffeur-Privé will be able to expand to new cities

Viber, a messaging app with more than 600 million users worldwide, acquired Nextpeer, a provider of a cross platform social layer for mobile game developers. Nextpeer was acquired by Viber for $9 million.

The move is part of Viber’s long-term strategy to invest in and retain the top talent in the tech space, as the business continues to grow its global user-base.

Nextpeer was founded in 2011. Based in Tel Aviv, Nextpeer’s 12-person team will all become Viber employees with immediate effect. Nextpeer’s SDK and services will remain available, and will be enhanced to create new opportunities and functionalities through the Viber eco-system. 

The company had raised $2.9 million in funding.

Superchip designer ARM bought Israeli Internet of Things (IoT) security platform Sansa Security. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Sansa currently enables security in more than 150 million products a year and Sansa Security technology is deployed across a range of smart connected devices and enterprise systems. The deal complements the ARM security portfolio, including ARM TrustZone technology and SecurCore processor IP. 

The compant had raised $10 million in venture funding. 

GovDelivery, a cloud-based digital communication solution for government, acquired Textizen, an innovative platform that allows government to reach the public via mobile messaging to promote citizen action, engagement, and behavior change. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Adding Textizen’s capability to GovDelivery provides government with the ability to customize interactive experiences meeting citizens on mobile. 

The entire Textizen team will join GovDelivery immediately. The company had raised $450,000 in venture funding.

 Logicalis, an international IT solutions and managed services provider, conditionally agreed to acquire MCPc's Advanced Technology Integration Group (ATIG). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Logicalis will integrate the solution provider into its US operation. It will be acquiring ATIG's sales and technical resources in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, Georgia, New York and Oregon. The acquisition will provide ATIG's clients with access to Logicalis' managed services offerings as well as Logicalis' global footprint.

The acquisition will provide Logicalis with an enhanced presence in key Midwestern markets. ATIG also brings new consulting and professional services competencies focused on enterprise networking, data centre and collaboration integration, and professional services. 

The acquisition is subject to a number of closing conditions and is expected to become effective in September 2015.

Yahoo reached an agreement to acquire style-focused community Polyvore. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Jess Lee, the co-founder and CEO of Polyvore, will be joining Yahoo and will report directly to Yahoo’s senior vice president of publisher products Simon Khalaf following the closing of the transaction

Going forward, Polyvore will stay the same, but with new product features and new perks for top members.

The company raised over $22 million in funding.

(Image source: businessinsider.com)