Philly Enterprise Tech Daily Roundup 11/ 8: Arris, Stitch, & C&D deals


Tom Paine




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Hickory NC-based Commscope reached a deal to acquire Suwanee, GA-based Arris International for $5.7 billion, excluding debt. Reuters first disclosed that the two businesses were in discussions last week.

Arris, one of Comcast's most important suppliers, makes set-top boxes & modems, and has made a move into wireless networking with its recent acquisition of Ruckus Wireless. The set-top business is declining primarily due to migration to the cloud. CommScope sells connectivity products to the wireless industry and cable operators. The two company's products are more complementary than competitive, but the changing industry landscape is pushing their strategic road maps closer together.

Ironically, Commscope started life as a subsidiary of Horsham's General Instruments, while Arris bought what was left of GI,  then Google-owned Motorola Home, in 2013.

Commscope turned to its old owner prior to going public, Carlyle Group LP, which will make a $1 billion minority equity investment in CommScope to help finance the transaction.





Talend, which saw its share dive slightly after it reported earnings yesterday (down 31% today), also announced it was acquiring Philly-based Stitch for about $60 million in cash.

Stitch, one of those by-product businesse that ends up creating considerable value - perhaps more than the original business - specializes in ETL (Extract Transform & Load), a utility that enables rapid self-service transfer of data from one database to another. When RJMetrics sold its analytical business to Magento, it spun off Stitch as a new, separate business under RJMetrics co-founder and Penn alumnus Jake Stein"s leadership, and it prospered.

Talend, founded in 2005 and based in California, competes in the iPaaS market against SnapLogic and others. It sees Stitch as a means of completing its main database creation work for customers quicker. Stein will be EVP for Stitch, reporting to Talend CEO Mike Tuchen.




C&D Technologies, the Blue Bell-based specialty battery maker, is acquiring California-based Trojan Battery Company . The combined company will have annual revenue of over $1 billion. C&D offers industrial lead acid batteries and battery systems that are used for the storage and transmission of electrical power, mainly for standby applications. Trojan provides deep-cycle batteries for motive and stationary applications.

KPS Capital Partners LP owns C&D, while Trojan is being sold by Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC and other shareholders.

Last year KPS Capital Partners acquired C&D Technologies from Angelo, Gordon & Co., which had backed the battery maker since 2012. It had previously been publicly traded.




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Talend acquiring Stitch for $60 million

Talend is acquiring Philadelphia's Stitch for $60 million in cash, Talend announced today.






Talend to Acquire Stitch, a Leader in Self-Service Cloud Data Integration
Adds New Offering for New Cloud Data Warehouse Users and a Frictionless Sales Channel


REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a move designed to accelerate its cloud momentum, Talend (Nasdaq:TLND) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Stitch, a leader in the fast-growing, self-service data integration market. Stitch offers an easy-to-use service for moving data from popular sources to leading cloud data warehouse platforms. The acquisition gives Talend both a strong solution for the cloud data warehouse market and a frictionless sales motion to land new cloud customers efficiently.




“Stitch is a great addition that gives us a compelling offering in the market for simple, self-service integration for cloud data warehouses,” said Mike Tuchen, CEO, Talend. “In addition, we believe Stitch will work as an efficient high-volume way to acquire new cloud customers to whom we can market our advanced cloud solutions for data integration, transformation, cleaning, preparing and cataloging.”

As companies standardize on using the cloud for analytics, users increasingly need to load cloud data warehouses and data lakes quickly. Most departments and small businesses lack the bandwidth and sometimes the skill set to use existing solutions, causing delays that lead to missed opportunities and poor customer experiences. Stitch, which will be rebranded as Stitch Data Loader, overcomes this set of challenges by enabling a broader population of users, including data scientists, data and business analysts, and engineers, to load data without relying on data integration specialists.

“Talend is an ideal fit for Stitch. Their products complement ours, and they share a similar culture and market vision,” said Jake Stein, co-founder and CEO, Stitch. “The move to the cloud and data-driven business is changing the integration market, bringing new users with different needs. With the combination of Talend and Stitch, we believe we become the only vendor that can serve all levels of the market and all users of cloud analytics.”

According to the Gartner Group, the increase in new roles such as data scientist, data engineer, data steward, and others that need access to data is expanding dramatically. In fact, Gartner Group predicts that “By 2020, the number of data and analytics experts in business units will grow at three times the rate of experts in IT departments, which will force companies to rethink their organizational models and skill sets.”[1]

In addition to enhancing Talend’s product portfolio, the acquisition is expected to help strengthen Talend’s value proposition for cloud ecosystem partners including data warehouse partners such as AWS, Azure, Google, and Snowflake.

“Snowflake is pleased that two of our partners are joining forces,” Snowflake CEO, Bob Muglia said. “The combination of Talend and Stitch will provide Snowflake customers with some of the broadest data integration capabilities and help them move their workloads to Snowflake with confidence.”

Upon closing, Jake Stein will become SVP of the Stitch business unit reporting directly to Talend, CEO, Mike Tuchen.To learn more about Stitch or try the service for free, visit Stitch.

Under the terms of the agreement, Talend will acquire Stitch for approximately $60 million in cash, subject to certain transaction adjustments. The transaction is expected to close later in the fourth quarter subject to customary closing conditions.



Like this story? Tweet this: .@Talendto strengthen cloud position with planned acquisition of @Stitch_Data a frictionless #Self-Service #CloudIntegration service https://bit.ly/1PAUaie



About Talend

Talend (Nasdaq: TLND),a leader in cloud data integration solutions, liberates data from legacy infrastructure and puts more of the right data to work for your business, faster. Talend Cloud delivers a single platform for data integration across public, private, and hybrid cloud, as well as on-premises environments, and enables greater collaboration between IT and business teams. Combined with an open, native, and extensible architecture for rapidly embracing market innovations, Talend allows you to cost-effectively meet the demands of ever-increasing data volumes, users, and use cases.

Over 2000 global enterprise customers have chosen Talend to put their data to work including GE, HP Inc., and Domino’s. Talend has been recognized as a leader in its field by leading analyst firms and industry publications including Forbes, InfoWorld, and SD Times. For more information, please visit www.talend.com and follow us on Twitter: @Talend.



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Twenty-First Century Fox's Lachlan Murdoch on Disney and Comcast (CNBC)

Twenty-First Century Fox's Lachlan Murdoch on Disney and Comcast from CNBC.



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Philly EnterpriseTech Daily Roundup 11/5: CloudMine, Amazon HQ2, Billtrust, Uber


Tom Paine




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CloudMine, the Center City-based startup that Safeguard Scientifics had financed to the tune of $11 million, declared Chapter 7 Bankruptcy today .


Lender Comerica Bank "declared a default and swept the company’s bank account during the week of October 29." an attorney representing CloudMine's board said in an email Monday, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.

A highly rated vendor of 'Backend as a Service' (BAAS), which is important in facilitating mobile apps. Cloudmine had honed in on the healthcare
for its product / market fit. But apparently there wasn't enough revenue there and CloudMine was out of financing alternatives.

Healthcare-related BaaS apps require considerable client development time and expense, complicating cashflow management.

Cloudmine had already downsized considerably, but the closure cost 11 remaining employees their jobs.

CloudMine had raised total funding of $15.6 million.

Co-founder and ex-CEO Brandon McCorkle left last year.





A story by the Washington Post over the weekend suggesting that Amazon had settled on Arlington, VA's Crystal City development as its HQ2
site and was negotiating final terms led to a very annoyed response from Amazon.

After the Post story came out, Amazon’s Mike Grella addressed “the genius leaking info,” saying: “You’re not doing Crystal City, VA any favors. And stop treating the NDA you signed like a used napkin.”

Of course, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Post.


Later reports pointed to a multi-city solution, and then to a two-city solution possibly including Dallas or New York in addition to Crystal City.




Lawrenceville, NJ-based Billtrust has launched a B2B payments platform for buyers and suppliers in conjunction with Visa .

The Billtrust Business Payments Network (BPN) is built upon a database of suppliers' preferred payment methods. The goal is to facilitate transactions more quickly and efficiently by helping buyers find out how to pay. Billtrust CEO Flint Lane told Pymnts.com that BPN will do what other B2B payment platforms have struggled to do: put paper checks on the path to extinction.




Uber has asked Pennsylvania for permission to resume self-driving car testing on public roads, claiming it has improved the autonomous vehicle software, the company said on Nov 2, more than seven months after it suspended testing following a deadly crash in Arizona.

The company disclosed in a report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it would resume testing with two employees in the front seat, enable an automatic braking system at all times, and more strictly monitor safety employees.



Utah-based software firm Qualtrics is about to raise up to $500 million in an IPO. Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith in July 2015: "Congratulating me for raising VC is like congratulating someone for taking out a mortgage."




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SAP's McDermott on Bloomberg: Cloud, CRM, China



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Moore College of Art & Design Hosts Game Changers: Women in Animation and Games

Moore College of Art & Design
Hosts Game Changers: Women in Animation and Games

Philadelphia, PA – Moore College of Art & Design is proud to once again host Game Changers: Women in Animation and Games, a panel discussion featuring women who work in the industry, on Thursday, November 8, 2018. The event, presented by the Animation & Game Arts department, will be held from 7 – 8 pm in Moore’s Graham Auditorium, 1916 Race Street, with a reception to follow from 8 – 9 pm. It is free and open to the public. For more information, visit moore.edu/gamechangers.

The moderator is Lauren Brown of EA Mobile. Panelists include Rachel Sima of PHL Collective, Shayla Hall of Floyd County Productions and Zoe Smith of QC Games. They will discuss their creative process, careers and how they are effecting change in the industry. The panel will be followed by a Q&A with the audience and a reception with the panelists.

“Women have long been underrepresented in an industry that more than half of all women have engaged with,” said Brown. “We want to encourage an environment where women of all backgrounds will feel empowered to create and have their voices be heard.”

“In today’s world, it is more important than ever to highlight women working in animation and games, which is still a male-dominated industry,” said Steve Wood, assistant professor of Animation & Game Arts. “I also feel it is important to give women in these industries a platform to discuss what they feel is most important to them and the work that they do.”

Panelists:

Lauren Brown is a professional illustrator and graphic designer. She is currently the lead environmental artist for EA Mobile in Austin, Texas.

Rachel Sima has been working in the game industry for five years as a writer, designer and producer, working with clients such as the Tourette Association of America and Cartoon Network. She currently works as a producer at PHL Collective, a Philadelphia-based game development studio.

Shayla Hall is a background artist for the TV series Archer on FX. She was also the background art director for the animated episode "BuzzKill” in Misfits and Monsters on TruTV. She is a background artist for Floyd County Productions in Atlanta, and has been developing and working on her own webcomic series, RotAngel.

Zoe Smith is a 3D character artist currently working at QC Games in Austin, Texas, on the recently announced game “Breach.” She enjoys creating 3D models in her spare time.


Moore College of Art & Design educates students for careers in art and design. Founded in 1848, Moore is the nation's first and only women's visual arts college for undergraduates. The College's career-focused environment and professionally active faculty form a dynamic community in the heart of Philadelphia's cultural district, surrounded by world-class museums. The College offers ten Bachelor of fine arts degrees for women and four coeducational graduate programs. In addition, Moore provides many valuable opportunities in the arts through The Galleries at Moore, Continuing Education Certificate programs for professional adults, the acclaimed Young Artists Workshop, The Art Shop and Sculpture Park. For more information about Moore, visit www.moore.edu


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Annual Lion Cage pitch competition set for Nov. 10 at PSU Great Valley, includes $5,000 in prizes

Student presenting business idea to panel of judges in auditorium
The second annual Lion Cage pitch competition will be held on Nov. 10 for both the Penn State community and the public to present business ideas and compete for $5,000 in prizes.
Image: Elizabeth Palmer
Student presenting business idea to panel of judges in auditorium
The second annual Lion Cage pitch competition will be held on Nov. 10 for both the Penn State community and the public to present business ideas and compete for $5,000 in prizes.
Image: Elizabeth Palmer

Annual Lion Cage pitch competition set for Nov. 10, includes $5,000 in prizes

October 3, 2018
MALVERN, Pa. — Penn State Great Valley will hold the second annual Lion Cage pitch competition from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10.
Designed for early-stage entrepreneurs, Lion Cage creates an opportunity to pitch business products or ideas to a judging panel of startup and business experts, receive valuable feedback, and compete for prizes. A total of $5,000 will awarded this year, and the contest is open to both the Penn State community and the public.
The event is held through the campus’ REV-UP Center for Entrepreneurship, which was established in May 2016 through a grant from the Invent Penn State Initiative. Operating in partnership with the Chester County Economic Development Council, REV-UP aims to engage and encourage Penn State students, faculty and community members to generate innovative, commercially-viable solutions to address existing and emerging business and social needs, and to support their entrepreneurial efforts as they serve the Philadelphia region.
In its first year, Lion Cage saw 10 pitches from students, alumni and community members. Their ideas ranged from an Esports strategy app, to an on-demand child care center, to a community-centered coffee shop. Speakers included Michael Dermer, founder and author of the Lonely Entrepreneur, and Anthony Gold, co-founder of ROAR for Good.
“Last year's inaugural event was a great success,” said Doug Schumer, faculty director for the REV-UP center. “Participants and attendees came together to celebrate entrepreneurship. This year we will build on that success, featuring a pitch contest with bigger awards and a keynote address by the entrepreneur and author Wayne Kimmel.”
Wayne Kimmel, managing partner of SeventySix Capital
Wayne Kimmel, managing partner of SeventySix Capital, will deliver the keynote address at Lion Cage.
Image: Wayne Kimmel
A sports tech venture capitalist and philanthropist, Wayne Kimmel has been named a top innovator by Philadelphia Magazine and is included on Philadelphia Business Journal's Power 100 list. He is the managing partner of SeventySix Capital, a venture capital company that invests in startup consumer facing tech companies in the sports, health and retail industries. Other partners include Jon Powell, CEO of Kravco Company LLC, a leading real estate company that developed the King of Prussia Mall, and Ryan Howard, former National League MVP and 2008 World Series champion with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Competitors for this year’s event will be preselected through an application process. Interested individuals must complete the online application by Friday, Oct. 19. Lion Cage is open to the public, but advance online registration is required. The event is sponsored by American Crane. More information is available at greatvalley.psu.edu/lioncage.
October 3, 2018
MALVERN, Pa. — Penn State Great Valley will hold the second annual Lion Cage pitch competition from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10.
Designed for early-stage entrepreneurs, Lion Cage creates an opportunity to pitch business products or ideas to a judging panel of startup and business experts, receive valuable feedback, and compete for prizes. A total of $5,000 will awarded this year, and the contest is open to both the Penn State community and the public.
The event is held through the campus’ REV-UP Center for Entrepreneurship, which was established in May 2016 through a grant from the Invent Penn State Initiative. Operating in partnership with the Chester County Economic Development Council, REV-UP aims to engage and encourage Penn State students, faculty and community members to generate innovative, commercially-viable solutions to address existing and emerging business and social needs, and to support their entrepreneurial efforts as they serve the Philadelphia region.
In its first year, Lion Cage saw 10 pitches from students, alumni and community members. Their ideas ranged from an Esports strategy app, to an on-demand child care center, to a community-centered coffee shop. Speakers included Michael Dermer, founder and author of the Lonely Entrepreneur, and Anthony Gold, co-founder of ROAR for Good.
“Last year's inaugural event was a great success,” said Doug Schumer, faculty director for the REV-UP center. “Participants and attendees came together to celebrate entrepreneurship. This year we will build on that success, featuring a pitch contest with bigger awards and a keynote address by the entrepreneur and author Wayne Kimmel.”
Wayne Kimmel, managing partner of SeventySix Capital
Wayne Kimmel, managing partner of SeventySix Capital, will deliver the keynote address at Lion Cage.
Image: Wayne Kimmel
A sports tech venture capitalist and philanthropist, Wayne Kimmel has been named a top innovator by Philadelphia Magazine and is included on Philadelphia Business Journal's Power 100 list. He is the managing partner of SeventySix Capital, a venture capital company that invests in startup consumer facing tech companies in the sports, health and retail industries. Other partners include Jon Powell, CEO of Kravco Company LLC, a leading real estate company that developed the King of Prussia Mall, and Ryan Howard, former National League MVP and 2008 World Series champion with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Competitors for this year’s event will be preselected through an application process. Interested individuals must complete the online application by Friday, Oct. 19. Lion Cage is open to the public, but advance online registration is required. The event is sponsored by American Crane. More information is available at greatvalley.psu.edu/lioncage.


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