Panasonic to buy Blue Yonder for $6.5bn

Panasonic Corp is set to buy US software firm Blue Yonder for $6.45bn in its biggest acquisition deal since 2011, Nikkei reported on Monday.

The news comes a year after Panasonic bought a 20% stake in Blue Yonder for 86bn yen.

Panasonic is now in the final stages of acquiring the rest of the company from shareholders including Blackstone Group Inc..

It is part of the Japanese company’s aim to expand hardware that combines software, sensors and other devices to improve operational efficiency.

The deal would mark Panasonic’s largest since its acquisition of Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works wholly-owned subsidiaries in 2011, according to the Japanese daily.

The Nikkei report claimed that the financing for the purchase was likely to come from the company’s own funds but that loans or other funding sources might also be included.