Topic: How To Invest

Spinoffs & Takeovers Hotline – Friday, March 20, 2020

Article Excerpt

DESCARTES SYSTEMS GROUP INC., $44.21, symbol DSG on Toronto, is a provider of cloud-based software to businesses in need of logistics solutions. Customers use its software to schedule and track deliveries, audit and pay transportation invoices, access global trade data, and other logistics-related processes. On February 24, 2020, Descartes announced that it had acquired Peoplevox, a U.K.-based provider of cloud-based e-commerce warehouse management software, which aims to help e-commerce companies more efficiently run their fulfilment operations. Descartes paid $24.5 million (all figures expect share price in U.S. dollars) to acquire Peoplevox. It has, in fact, steadily used acquisitions to expand over the last few years. For instance, in 2017, it acquired ShipRush, another e-commerce company, for $17 million. Two years before that, it acquired Oz Development for $29.5 million. Growth by acquisition adds risk, but Descartes lowers that by making small purchases that fit in well with its existing operations. In the quarter ended January 31, 2020, the company’s revenues rose 18.4%, to $325.8…