January 14. 2022

• Hitachi Ltd. of Japan announced plans to sell roughly half of its share in Hitachi Construction to marketing firm Itochu for 182.4 billion yen ($1.60 billion). With Japan Industrial Partners, Itochu will purchase Hitachi’s interest for 3,300 yen per share. As a result, Hitachi now holds a 51.5% interest in the construction firm.
• Thrasio Holdings Inc., an Amazon.com Inc.-based brand aggregator, has reserved more than $500 million for development in one of the speediest e-commerce marketplaces in the world, India.
• Google made a $1 billion investment in a prominent London building where it is now a customer, demonstrating its confidence in the office’s future as a place to work.
• On Friday, the meme-based cryptocurrency dogecoin soared 18% to above $0.2 after Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said that the electric automaker would accept it as a mode of payment for its products.
• United Overseas Bank of Singapore has agreed to buy Citi’s Southeast Asia retail unit for S$5 billion ($3.7 billion). This deal brings Citi closer to its goal of closing retail operations in 13 areas.
• Ariat International, a renowned footwear and clothing brand for equestrian sports, outdoor activities, and work industries, has successfully implemented an AMR solution, according to Geek+, a global provider of autonomous mobile robotics (AMR) technology. Geek+’s key partner Körber, a global supply chain software provider, collaborated on the solution’s implementation.
• Highspot, a sales management technology that enhances sales team performance, has received $248 million in Series F investment. B Capital Group and D1 Capital Partners led the round, with Madrona Venture Group, ICONIQ Growth, Sapphire, Salesforce Ventures, and Tiger Global Management joining as existing investors.
• Avaneer Health has received a $50 million startup investment. Avaneer Health is a participant-based, completely accessible network created for and by the healthcare sector.
• Roots, an HR software platform that enables small enterprises to work more efficiently and minimize burnout, has been purchased by Deel. This remote recruiting startup is destroying employment barriers throughout the world. Casey Bailey, an HR expert who originally occupied top People positions at high-growth startups such as Divvy and Uber, also joined Deel.
• Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) announced that it issued 2.50% senior convertible notes due 2027, whose principal amount is $425 million. Virgin Galactic plans to utilize the net profits from the sale to cover cash flow, administration expenses, and capital expenditures to expedite the development of its spaceship fleet and deliver high-level commercial operations.
• NEAR Protocol, an Ethereum rival, has raised financing for Web3 adoption with help from Three Arrows Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.

Related Links:
PWI Daily January 13, 2022
PWI Daily January 12, 2022