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New Kearney report: Chemicals M&A rebound expected in the next 12 to 18 months with return of sustainability goals, predict more than 50% of industry execs

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Decarbonization-based M&A, which dropped to just 3% of deal value in 2022, increased by 200% in related deal values—the surge is expected to continueEurope’s chemicals M&A deals dropped from 41% in 2022 to 26% in 2023, while deal share in Asia and North America roseChemicals execs expect faster deal movement from strategics than from PE investors

CHICAGO, June 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today global management consultancy Kearney releases a new report, Chemicals M&A: deal activity remains sluggish but rebound signs are there, which discusses industry trends and makes predictions for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the chemicals sector for the coming year. “Pressure is mounting for the chemicals M&A market to open up,” noted Andrew Walberer, Kearney partner and co-author of the 2024 Chemicals Executive M&A Report. “We expect small to mid-size deals to predominate in the near future, rather than the mega deals we’ve seen in the past. Europe will remain a challenging place for outsiders to make M&A deals right now, with the Ukraine-driven decline in foreign investments there. Across the board, deals will continue to be expensive, since multiples continue to be relatively high.”

This 10th edition of the Chemicals Executive M&A Report explores the various factors leading to expectations of an increase in M&A activity in the next 12 to 18 months, including growing public concern and heightened environmental awareness, stricter regulatory environments, particularly in Europe, and historic levels of dry powder held by private equity (PE) investors in the space. The 2024 Chemicals Executive M&A Report offers recommendations for chemicals companies as well as a forecast for likely deal activity.

The report looks at the various factors contributing to an expected rebound in M&A activity in the chemicals sector after a five-year downward trajectory, including:

Strong optimism (51%) among executives that M&A activity will increaseChemicals companies standing at or below 5-year historic valuationsNew opportunities created by major chemicals players’ plans to restructure in coming months Analysis of last year’s top deals, driven by consolidation, scale, and vertical integrationFundamental shifts in the industry, such as:Sustainability-related pressure from government policies and shareholdersExpansion of new sustainable, carbon footprint-reducing productsShift to innovative, customer-facing models in recycling, renewables, and specialtyRegulations and growing demand for sustainable products as significant deal driver

“For M&A in the chemicals space, it’s been a year of comeback from geopolitical pressures, high interest rates, and the resulting hold on many companies’ decarbonization plans,” said Kearney partner and report-co-author Sudeep Maheshwari. “Decarbonization goals should reappear strongly in the coming year. Chemical executives we spoke with expect strategic investors such as national oil companies (NOCs) to move faster in deal-making than PE investors, with high interest rates precipitating an increase in divestments and asset carve-outs.”

Please follow this link for the full 2024 Chemicals Executive M&A Report

About the 2024 Chemicals Executive M&A Report

Now in its 10th edition, the 2024 Chemicals Executive M&A Report has been issued annually since 2014. For this 2024 edition, Kearney interviewed 100+ leaders in the chemicals industry in H2 2023. Analysis of additional research, carve-outs, and restructures led to proprietary advisory and forecasting on M&A deal flows in the industry.

About Kearney  
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm. For nearly 100 years, we have been a trusted advisor to C-suites, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. Our people make us who we are. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we work alongside our clients to regenerate their businesses to create a future that works for everyone. To learn more about Kearney, please visit www.kearney.com

U.S. Media contact:
Meir Kahtan, MKPR
mkahtan@rcn.com
+1 917-864-0800

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Aprecomm Upends the CX Industry with Appointment of Philippe Alcaras to its Advisory Board

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Industry leader Philippe Alcaras, former CEO of Airties, has joined Aprecomm as an advisor, bringing unparalleled knowledge and experience to guide its leadership team.

BANGALORE, India, April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Aprecomm, the intuitive network and customer experience platform provider, announced a major coup by appointing former Airties CEO and highly experienced telecom leader Philippe Alcaras as an advisor. Presiding over Airties during a time of substantial growth, when the company expanded its footprint into new markets, Philippe brings the experience and business acumen necessary to support and advise Aprecomm’s Executive Team as global demand for its AI-driven customer experience (CX) platform continues to grow at pace.

“Aprecomm has already secured over 20% of the Indian fixed broadband market and is supplying close to 50 service providers with its customer experience optimization software,” said Philippe Alcaras, Aprecomm’s latest advisor. “With the penetration of managed WiFi estimated at only 15-30% globally [1], Aprecomm has a huge opportunity to disrupt the market with its AI data-driven approach and fast speed to market—I’m excited to join Pramod and his Team and support this high-growth phase.”

Among several key focus areas, Philippe will bring extensive experience to help guide the company’s positioning and narrative for investor outreach and fundraising initiatives, support engagement with strategic customers and partnerships, ⁠and provide ongoing input and feedback on corporate governance, product strategy, and roadmap development.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Philippe, who will provide his expertise and advice to the Company during our next growth phase,” said Pramod Gummaraj, Founder & CEO, Aprecomm. “Philippe’s knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to disrupt the industry, helping service providers harness AI’s power to serve their subscribers better, bringing joy to online experiences while achieving significant operational savings through our intuitive and self-healing approach to network management.”

Serving both residential and business subscribers, Aprecomm’s CX suite helps broadband service providers (BSPs) transform their connectivity approaches. By utilizing sophisticated artificial intelligence, including a unique quality of experience algorithm, Aprecomm is paving the way for intuitive zero-touch networks. Aprecomm adopts a self-optimizing and self-healing approach to managed WiFi, adjusting the network to accommodate the unique needs of each user and the application they are using. Aprecomm’s advanced analytics and automated support tools provide access to real-time data, enabling service providers to monitor end-to-end network performance. Its CX suite is field-proven [2] for enhancing subscriber satisfaction and reducing operational costs.

About Philippe Alcaras
Based in Dubai (UAE), Philippe Alcaras holds non-executive positions as Chairman of OnRobot (Odense, Denmark), Chair of the Advisory Board at Vianeos (Paris, Dubai), and Board Member at S3 Connected Health (Dublin). From 2012 to 2022, Philippe was the CEO of Airties, leading the company to become a global leader in home network WiFi performance. He also served as the General Manager of Philips Home Networks, CEO of Nagra France, and General Manager of Digital TV Devices at Vantiva. Philippe graduated with an MBA from KEDGE (Marseille) and is certified as an INSEAD International Director.

Aprecomm harnesses the power of AI to provide a unique applications suite that enables service providers to create self-optimizing and self-healing broadband networks.

Our quality-of-experience engine monitors and optimizes WiFi performance to ensure consumers enjoy the best possible internet experience. At the same time, our cloud-based support applications leverage real-time data to predict and resolve customer service issues before they happen, saving providers time and money.

Aprecomm manages over 7 million home and business locations, partnering with more than 45 service providers worldwide.

We’re making intuitive, self-healing networks a reality.

Follow Aprecomm on LinkedIn here.

#IntuitiveNetworks
#BringingJoyToOnline

Visit www.aprecomm.ai to discover more.

Press contact:

corporatecomms@aprecomm.ai

[1] Various industry estimates
[2] Excitel case study

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SOURCE Aprecomm

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Centric PLM for Food & Beverage and Grocery Tackle Tariffs Head-On

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Real-time data, cost simulation and supplier management are all strategies employed by Centric PLM to combat tariff uncertainty

CAMPBELL, Calif., April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, formulate, develop, procure, manufacture and sell consumer goods products in food & beverage, grocery, fashion and multi-category retail to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

With the recent burst of tariff activity, food & beverage companies and grocery retailers are faced with widely fluctuating ingredient costs. Changes in regulations are happening day-by-day and consumer response is also factoring into sales, so there is no time for consultation and lengthy analyses; response to tariffs must be reactive and swift.

Real-time access to data becomes crucial in today’s circumstances. A modern PLM solution has modules that can facilitate agile product development, enabling companies to quickly adapt to market changes. By streamlining collaboration and workflow processes, food & beverage and grocery companies can revamp their offerings or develop new products that cater to evolving consumer demands and benefit from AI-functionalities like least cost formulation to protect margins. Agility is necessary for maintaining market relevance amid shifting market conditions.

With Centric PLM, companies can evaluate and compare suppliers, simulate costing scenarios, adjust landed cost calculations, support multi-sourcing strategies and facilitate quick supplier revision requests. With AI formula matching, developers get a head start in formulating the next new product. Centric PLM also manages packaging: from briefs, to specifications to artwork and labeling. Ingredient and nutrition label information is pulled directly from PLM into packaging, eliminating the chance for error when transferring data manually between systems.

To improve consumer experience across all touchpoints, Centric PXMTM, Centric product experience management, combines product information management (PIM), digital asset management (DAM), content syndication to e-comm sites, marketplaces and social media and digital shelf analytics (DSA). It captures demand signals from digital sales channels and shows consumer behavior in real-time, creating a continuous feedback loop, so brands can quickly adjust products, pricing and inventory to personalize customer experiences and increase sell-through in response to whatever the current conditions are.

Traditional ways of managing tariffs, often siloed within finance or sourcing teams no longer provide the visibility or speed businesses need to stay competitive. Navigating tariffs involves more than understanding costs; it also requires compliance with evolving international trade regulations. Non-compliance can lead to penalties and operational disruptions. Being aware of the latest regulatory changes through a comprehensive tech platform is key. Centric PLM integrates with regulatory databases like USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy and CIQUAL. A partnership with the global regulatory and food safety service provider FoodChain ID, provides users with access to 220 global regulatory libraries.

“Completely market-driven, the breadth of Centric Software’s AI-powered technology solutions covers the end-to-end product lifecycle,” says Chris Groves, CEO of Centric Software. “Centric solutions, including PLM and PXM, provide robustness to food companies whose ingredients often hail from all corners of the globe. During times of economic volatility, Centric solutions equip food & beverage producers and retailers, including grocery which is often a diverse range of consumer goods products, to better handle market and supply chain disruptions.”

Learn how to mitigate retail uncertainty with Centric’s Tariff Hub

Request a demo 

Media Contact

Celia Newhouse, Centric Software, +14385015498, cnewhouse@centricsoftware.com, www.centricsoftware.com

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Innodisk Paves the Way for Next-Gen Data Centers with its First PCIe Gen5 SSD Series

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TAIPEI, April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Innodisk, a leading industrial-grade flash storage provider, announces the launch of its latest PCIe Gen5 SSD series, designed to meet the OCP Data Center NVMe SSD spec v2.0 and the increasing demands of AI model training, big data analytics, and data-intensive environments.  

The new series supports multiple form factors, including U.2, as well as EDSFF E1.S, E3.S, and the brand-new E3.L for data center applications, catering to the diverse needs of enterprise and data center environments. This marks a new chapter for Innodisk in further fulfilling enterprise demands.

The Innodisk PCIe Gen5 SSD, built with the latest PCIe Gen 5 x4 interface and NVMe 2.0 protocol, overcomes the speed and latency limitations of traditional storage interfaces. With up to 128TB of high-density NAND storage, it delivers speeds of up to 14GB/s (read) and 10GB/s (write), enabling lightning-fast data transfers for data-intensive applications.

Enterprise data centers managing large-scale storage deployments and multi-tiered environments often require out-of-band and batch management capabilities, which present growing challenges. Innodisk PCIe Gen5 SSD addresses these demands with NVMe-MI for streamlined SSD management and multi-namespace support, ensuring scalable and efficient storage operations.

To ensure high quality and alignment with market trends, the PCIe Gen5 SSD aims to enhance integration with industry-leading data center standards, such as OCP Data Center NVMe SSD spec v2.0. Additionally, it is intended to be built for seamless integration with VMware, optimizing compatibility with virtualized environments and overall system performance.

Innodisk’s PCIe Gen5 SSD also features advanced security mechanisms, ensuring robust data protection and seamless integration. Secure Boot technology authenticates digital signatures during firmware updates, preventing unauthorized modifications and ensuring that only trusted firmware is executed.  

Other than that, Innodisk offers exceptional extensive firmware compatibility and customizable solutions, ensuring seamless integration into diverse enterprise environments.  

The Innodisk PCIe Gen5 SSD will be available starting Q2 2025. For more information, please visit www.innodisk.com.

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