If you haven't heard the news already, Toshiba TEC recently announced its upcoming acquisition of IBM's Retail Store Solutions business. The $850 million deal, which is scheduled to close late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter will help to support Toshiba TEC's expansion in North America and Europe. Greg Busak's article for the IHL Group says that this is arguably the most significant announcement in the last 10 years for the point of sale industry.
A ZDnet blog post reports that the deal is part of Toshiba’s efforts to secure clients such as Walmart and Toys ‘R’ Us, amongst others, which IBM already holds as part of its customer base. IBM’s retail store services’ revenue in 2011 was approximately $1.15 billion, with over 1,000 employees worldwide.
According to the Toshiba TEC release, Toshiba will acquire IBM’s Retail Store Solutions overall business operation functions globally, including development, sales, and related in-store maintenance. "The opportunities in retail store solutions are expected to grow by increasing demand in POS systems,” stated Mamoru Suzuki, president and CEO, Toshiba TEC, in a release. “In addition, demand for multi-channel integration and enhancement of store back office management accelerates further expansion of sales.”
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