M&A: The art of the deal

The Tech Panda takes a look at recent mergers and acquisitions within various tech ecosystems and what that means for industry.

Datawrkz Acquires Space & Time

Datawrkz, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Limited (BSE: 543280) (NSE: NAZARA) has acquired a 100% stake in Space & Time, an independent growth marketing agency with offices across the UK for approximately GBP 4.8 million (~INR 52.3 crores) in cash and stock.

Senthil Govindan, CEO and founder of Datawrkz, will join the Space & Time board. He noted, “We are embarking on an inorganic strategy to complement our strong independent growth, and Space & Time is an ideal partner. The cultural alignment and shared focus on delivering value for clients make this acquisition a perfect fit. We anticipate this collaboration will significantly boost growth for both companies, with Space & Time driving our expansion in Europe.”

Space & Time chief executive officer, Chris Jones said, “The company was founded with very clear principles focussed around client success. I’m incredibly proud to say these are more intrinsic and fundamental to our values than ever. The challenge was to find an investor that shares this passion for client-centricity and that’s exactly what we’ve found in Datawrkz. As two fast-growing and specialist businesses, the potential between us made this the perfect match and the investment in key areas such as data and technology that this deal brings will help future-proof our clients’ business as we continue to grow. The deal represents an exciting new chapter in the Space & Time story as we partner with Datawrkz to bring new opportunities to clients. We’re excited for all that lies ahead.”

Why It Matters

This acquisition is a key move in advancing Datawrkz’s growth ambitions across Europe and North America, positioning it as a scaled player in the global digital advertising market

Gladiators Esports Acquires Gods Reign

Marking one of the most significant acquisitions in the Indian esports landscape, Gladiators Esports has officially acquired Bengaluru-based Gods Reign to unite two of the nation’s leading esports entities. As part of this acquisition, Gladiators Esports will integrate the Gods Reign into its operations, with Gods Reign retaining its name for the esports team while all other verticals, including content creation and marketing will be under the banner of Gladiators Esports. This consolidation aims to streamline operations, strengthen brand identity, and leverage the combined resources of both entities.

Gladiators Esports stated, “We are thrilled to welcome Gods Reign into the Gladiators Esports family. This acquisition reflects our commitment to elevating Indian esports and driving its growth. By integrating the renowned Gods Reign brand and its talented roster, we are not only broadening our reach and influence but also creating a nurturing space for our players and creators to excel. This marks an exciting new chapter, and we eagerly look forward to shaping a bright future for Indian esports.”

“This acquisition by Gladiators Esports represents a pivotal step for both Gods Reign and the Indian esports ecosystem. By combining our expertise, experience, and shared vision for advancing Indian esports, we are poised to deliver unmatched experiences and achievements. Our new BGMI roster, featuring both seasoned talent and fresh perspectives, embodies the high level of competition we’re committed to bringing. Through this strategic move, we aim to amplify opportunities for our athletes, engage our community in exciting new ways, and elevate Indian esports on the global stage,” said Rohith KR, CEO of Gods Reign.

Why It Matters

As part of this acquisition, Gladiators Esports will integrate the Gods Reign into its operations, with Gods Reign retaining its name for the esports team while all other verticals, including content creation and marketing will be under the banner of Gladiators Esports. This consolidation aims to streamline operations, strengthen brand identity, and leverage the combined resources of both entities.

Qlik Acquires Upsolver

Qlik®, a data integration, data quality, analytics, and AI company, acquired Upsolver, a company in real-time data streaming and Apache Iceberg optimization. The acquisition combines Upsolver’s real-time ingestion to Iceberg and adaptive optimization with Qlik’s end-to-end data platform, enabling organizations to access data faster, optimize their data estate, reduce costs, and unlock AI-driven insights.

The acquisition of Upsolver positions Qlik to lead in the shift toward open data lakehouses, where enterprises demand flexibility, scalability, and performance.

“With Upsolver’s real-time streaming capabilities and advanced Iceberg optimization, we’re building on Qlik’s proven enterprise solutions to drive even greater value for our customers,” said James Fisher, Chief Strategy Officer at Qlik. “We’re also excited to welcome Upsolver’s team of experts to Qlik, further strengthening our commitment to providing open, scalable data solutions that reduce complexity and fuel innovation across data integration, analytics, and AI.”

“Upsolver and Qlik share a deep commitment to simplifying data complexity and empowering enterprises to unlock the full potential of their data,” said Ori Rafael, CEO of Upsolver. “What makes this partnership so powerful is how seamlessly our real-time ingestion and Iceberg optimization align with Qlik’s end-to-end platform. Together, we are delivering a unified solution that equips organizations to scale with confidence, reduce costs, and enable AI-driven innovation with trusted and governed data.”

Why It Matters

Key benefits of this acquisition include:

·         Real-Time Insights: Enable continuous ingestion from streaming sources like Kafka and Kinesis, powering faster decisions and AI workflows.

·         Unified Data Ecosystem: Single unified data platform to ingest, transform, manage, optimize and govern Iceberg-based open lakehouses.

·         Cost Optimization: Cut infrastructure costs with Upsolver’s Adaptive Iceberg Optimizer, reducing storage and improving query performance by up to 5x through automated, table-specific optimizations.

·         Open and Interoperable: Leverage an open Iceberg table format to operate flexibly with a range of tools and engines like Snowflake, Databricks, and Athena.

 One Point One Solutions Limited (OPO) Acquires US based Healthcare Company

In a strategic step toward expanding its global footprint and service offerings, One Point One Solutions Limited (OPO) today announced the signing of a term sheet to acquire US based Healthcare Company in Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) for $45 million including earnouts. This potential acquisition aligns with One Point One’s strategy to become a global leader in business process management (BPM) and technology- driven solutions.

Akshay Chhabra, Chairman and Managing Director of One Point One Solutions Limited said, “The signing of this term sheet marks a significant step in our journey to redefine global outsourcing standards. The target company brings a wealth of expertise, with a talented workforce who are veterans in the healthcare industry having over 100+ years of combined experience will play a crucial role in driving our growth strategy.” The signing of the term sheet is poised to strengthen One Point One’s capabilities to become a key player in the $410 billion global BPM market in the healthcare vertical. OPO already has a widespread geographic presence, this acquisition will add nearshore delivery locations in Uruguay and the Dominican Republic, and offshore centers in the Philippines.

The completion of this acquisition is subject to due diligence, regulatory clearances, and the finalization of definitive agreements. The entire process of integration is expected to be achieved by Q3 2025.

Why It Matters

Through this potential acquisition, the combined entity plans to leverage cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize efficiency and innovation in service delivery. This complements One Point One’s strategy to broaden its worldwide delivery model, creating value for clients across industries such as healthcare, finance and telecommunications.

DeHaat Acquires AgriCentral

DeHaat, India’s homegrown AgTech platform, acquired Olam Agri owned AgriCentral, a large farm advisory platform in India through a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) in an all cash deal. This strategic acquisition of AgriCentral, a platform with over 10 million smallholder farmers, will enhance DeHaat’s bouquet of digital farmer services, extend its outreach to these farmers, and solidify its position as India’s largest full-stack AgriTech platform.

“DeHaat has successfully developed robust supply chain capabilities to offer 360-degree agricultural solutions to Indian farmers across 120,000+ villages through a network of 15,000+ DeHaat Centres. We have also established institutional tie-ups with 1,000+ agribusiness institutions, including agri-input manufacturers, agri-produce buyers, warehouse operators, and financial institutions,” said Shashank Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, DeHaat.

Ramanarayanan Mahadevan, CEO, Jiva AG PTE said ‘At AgriCentral, our mission has always been to leverage technology to enhance the lives of Indian farmers, and we take immense pride in having reached over 10 million farmers through our platform. I am confident that DeHaat will further scale the impact, providing farmers on the AgriCentral platform with better access to a comprehensive range of agricultural value chain services. It is incredibly fulfilling to reflect on the role we’ve played in advancing the Indian agri-tech landscape. As AgriCentral becomes a part of DeHaat, we are confident that our vision will not only continue but also evolve in ways that creates even greater value for the farming community.’

Why It Matters

DeHaat’s acquisition of AgriCentral aligns perfectly with its mission to empower farmers in leveraging technology to enable better decision making across the crop life cycle. The integration will further strengthen DeHaat’s digital capability to offer holistic solutions across crop advisory, input supply, and market linkages. Post the acquisition, DeHaat will be serving an overall base of over 12 million farmers across the country, quadrupling the farmer network benchmark it had set for itself by 2024.