Highlights: Last week on Philly Tech News (1/23/2012 to 1/29/2012)

I interviewed Joseph Budner Elad, founder of Quantum Leap Innovations of Newark, Delaware, on the launch of its new software, twitter analytics tool Quantum Leap Buzz.

An Italian firm, Datalogic S.p.A., completed the acquisition of Telford, PA-based Accu-Sort from Danaher Corp. for $135 million. Datalogic says the acquisition will enable it to double its leading market share in the industrial stationary scanners segment.

New Jersey Tech Weekly's Esther Surden contributed an article on Susquehanna Growth Equity's $35 million minority investment in Hazlet, NJ-based human resources software as a service (SaaS) provider iCIMS.

The merger of Datatel and Malvern-based SunGard Higher Education closed. The combined company, temporarily named Datatel+SGHE, will be based in Northern Virginia. Datatel+SGHE subsequently said that "less than 40" existing employees would be eliminated at the present time.

Newtown-based EPAM Systems launched an IPO seeking to raise as much as $133 million. EPAM provides system development services using personnel mostly located in Eastern and Central Europe.

King of Prussia-based InterDigital announced it was ending its effort to auction off its entire patent portfolio, though it still may sell off pieces of it in the coming months. Bids that came in were not for the entire portfolio and didn't meet InterDigital's expectations.

Hot off the momentum SAP AG reported in its quarterly results for its HANA platform, the company continued to make bold predictions for it, restating a goal of challenging or even upending Oracle in the database software market, and also revealing that it intends to have ERP running on Hana by Q4 of this year.

A story in the New York Post suggested that Phildelphia Media Network, owner of the Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, is on the block again for $100 million, and that Randy Smith’s Alden Global, which has a reported 30% stake and has made large investments in other distressed newspaper properties, is on the sellers' side.

And the Phillie Phanatic made a cameo on 30 Rock, which included a speaking role (well, sort of) that presumably will result in higher compensation. Which is good, because I think the Phillies give him only peanuts and beer.



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