Bryan, Garnier & Co advises Xerox Corporation on the sale of their European Artificial Intelligence Research Lab to Naver
Context
Xerox Research Center Europe (XRCE) is one of the leading research centers operated by Xerox, along with PARC and XRCC.
XRCE’s main research fields are artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, data analytics, natural language processing and ethnography.
XRCE was established in 1993 in Grenoble, France and has 80 employees, 70 of which are internationally renowned scientists.
XRCE has generated and manages a large-scale worldwide IP portfolio which will remain in Xerox’s ownership and will be licensed to Naver.
The sale of XRCE occured after the spin-off of Xerox’s services business that took place in December 2016 forming two listed entities in the USA – Xerox and Conduent.
The acquisition of XRCE by NAVER supports their focus on AI research and their strategy to expand in Europe by investing in European Technology startups namely with the launch of their incubation programme in Paris.
Transaction highlights
Bryan, Garnier & Co advised Xerox Corporation in their search for a strategic acquirer for XRCE.
We assisted Xerox in structuring and negotiating the acquisition.
Carve-out situation resulting in complex due diligence, legal and transitioning matters.
Highly competitive process led by Bryan, Garnier & Co with large international potential acquirers.
Acquisition by NAVER, the leading and largest South-Korean internet company (2 400 employees and $25bn Market Capitalization).
Significant foothold for Bryan, Garnier & Co in the Artificial Intelligence space.
About Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an $11 billion technology leader that innovates the way the world communicates, connects and works. Their expertise addresses customers of all sizes look to improve productivity, maximise profitability and increase satisfaction. It does this for small and mid-size businesses, large enterprises, governments, graphic communications providers, and for the partners who serve them. The company embraces the increasingly complex world of paper and digital. Office and mobile. Personal and social. Every day across the globe – in more than 160 countries – our its technology, software and people successfully navigate those intersections. They automate, personalise, package, analyse and secure information to keep our customers moving at an accelerated pace.
About Naver
Founded in 1999, Naver is the no. 1 South Korean web firm, boosted primarily by its search website, which is the most popular in South Korea. The firm has developed online advertising and content by adopting a very persistent and constant R&D policy, which has enabled Naver to bring very popular product innovations to market such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising in 2005 based on numbers of clicks by Internet users.Naver is one of the largest listed companies in the country with nearly 2 500 employees, and market capitalization of $25 billion.
About Bryan, Garnier & Co
Bryan, Garnier & Co is a European, full service growth-focused independent investment banking partnership founded in 1996. The firm provides equity research, sales and trading, private and public capital raising as well as M&A services to growth companies and their investors. It focuses on key growth sectors of the economy including Technology, Media & Telecoms, Healthcare, Smart Industries & Energy, Consumer, Brands & Retail and Business Services. Bryan, Garnier & Co is a fully registered broker dealer authorized and regulated by the FCA in Europe and the FINRA in the U.S. Bryan, Garnier & Co is headquartered in London, with additional offices in Paris, Munich and New York. The firm is a member of the London Stock Exchange and Euronext.
Deal team
Guillaume Nathan
Partner
T: +33 1 56 68 75 27
Jonathan Bohbot
Vice President
T: +33 1 56 68 75 59
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