Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE:XIGM) (FRA:2C1), a technology provider for the remote economy, revealed that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Israel-based Alperton Ltd, which does business as Shipit.to, to acquire a 21% interest in the digital logistics platform for US$1.1 million in a stock-and-cash deal.
“On a continuing basis, this investment will allow Xigem to recognize its share of profit or loss, after the effective date of acquisition, from the results of Shipit.to,” said the company.
Under the LOI, Xigem will acquire a 21% interest in Shipit.to for US$200,000 in cash and US$863,291 in shares of Xigem. In addition, Xigem will appoint a representative to the Shipit.to board. The transaction is expected to be done within the next 30 days, subject to the execution of definitive agreements and regulatory assent.
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Shipit.to is a cost-effective shipment-tracking solution providing real-time information about the location and condition of goods being shipped around the world. Based on privately owned Shipit.to’s low-cost disposable trackers and artificial intelligence-based software, the Shipit.to solution offers an economical way for businesses to monitor shipments as they work their way through the supply chain to end consumers, noted the company.
“The system enables consumers to track the full history of a cargo's movements across land, sea or air, with alert notifications for any unexpected delays or rerouting,” it added.
"Shipit.to has developed an innovative solution with the potential to disrupt the way the world tracks shipments. Their business is perfectly situated to benefit from the increase in e-commerce activity and the growing need for new technologies to help companies manage their global supply chains," Brian Kalish, co-founder and CEO of Xigem Technologies, said in a statement.
"This investment is fully aligned with Xigem's strategy to aggregate technologies designed to enable and disrupt the growing trillion-dollar remote economy. We plan to take advantage of our public platform to build a portfolio of complementary technologies, with Shipit.to's ground-breaking technology being the first of several opportunities," he added.
Shipit.to co-founder and chief product officer Ofer Lavi said his firm “looked forward” to partnering with Xigem as it had reached “an inflection point” in the commercialization of Shipit.to.
"The injection of capital will enable us to further develop our solution and expand our market share. We also expect to collaborate with the Xigem team on identifying specific customer opportunities," added Lavi.
The global digital logistics market size is expected to grow from $17.4 billion in 2020 to $46.5 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.7% during the forecast period, according to Research and Markets.
The company noted that the recent shipping backlog in the Suez Canal serves as a “reminder” of the interdependence of the global supply chain and the “importance of having real-time knowledge of the location of goods in transit,” as companies turn to supply chain analytics for business continuity planning.
With a growing roster of partners, Shipit.to trackers have been dispatched and analyzed across 90 countries for customers such as Damco (a division of Maersk), DSV Global Transport and Logistics, Filtersafe and Maytronics.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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