Retail Companies Trying To Catch Up To The Times Are Scrambling To Buy Tech Start-Ups

Competition for technology is a major driver in the surge of mergers and acquisitions in 2018. Four out of 10 acquisitions of technology companies have come from companies in other industries, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ deals team said in their mid-year review and outlook released Thursday. The consumer and retail industry has made the most purchases of tech companies, accounting for 32 percent of cross-sector deals involving tech, the report said. For example, Nordstrom announced in March it bought two digital retail start-ups: a sales communications platform called BevyUp and a brands-to-customer texting service called MessageYes. In media, Gannett said in May that it has agreed to buy cloud-based digital marketing company WordStream for $130 million. The focus on buying tech firms comes as companies overall are increasingly interested in deals in other industries. One-third of megadeals this year have crossed sector lines, the PwC report said. Read more at CNBC.