From a corporate finance point of view, we analyse the investments made in the connected car sector. In this case, we analyse the creation of a new company for the development of the new cars of the future and the acquisition of the 33% from Hedesis.
Hedesis
On 13 June 2018, the agreement took place whereby Grupo Mardom, a Spanish holding company, acquired the likewise Spanish company Herrero Desarrollo de Sistemas (Hedesis). As part of the transaction, the vendors were the brothers José Antonio and Óscar Herrero Puertas.
Hedesis, based in Valladolid, is a company dedicated to the commercialisation of AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles). It was born in 2004 with the ideal of making available to anyone, those technologies and developments only accessible to a few until now. Since its beginnings, most of its efforts have been focused on the research and development of machine-to-machine communication, a technology unknown to many until then, but with a very high growth capacity.
Its objectives are all customer-focused, and these are: To achieve the quality and satisfaction required by customers, to give them practical and simple tools, and to reduce costs without lowering rigorous quality standards.
Critical TechWorks, the cars of the future
BMW is a German automobile and motorcycle manufacturing company. Founded in 1916, it is known for its performance and luxury vehicles.
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world's leading manufacturer of automobiles and motorbikes and also offers premium mobility and financial services. The BMW Group's production network comprises 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
The BMW Group's success has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability along the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to resource conservation as an integral part of its strategy.
On 29 June 2018, BMW and Critical joined forces to create a new company, Critical TechWorks. It will be in charge of developing the car of the future. However, the deal is subject to the approval of Portugal's antitrust authority, AdC, and the European regulator.
The aim is to drive the future and to this end, Critical TechWorks will bring its expertise in vehicle connectivity, cloud-based IT solutions and the digitisation of corporate processes. The joint venture aims to initiate interdisciplinary collaboration in the fields of customer-related digital information and services as well as in the digitisation and automation of product development, production and sales.
Other connected car investments
| Company | Description | Country | Amount | Date |
| Reviver Auto | Reviver Auto is hard at work on an innovative connected car platform. | USA. USA. | $11,1M | 10/01/2018 |
| Karamba Security | Karamba Security hardens electronic control units (ECU) against any kind of foreign code. | USA. USA. | $10M | 10/04/2018 |
| Smartcar | Smartcar is a connected car platform that makes it easy for developers to create web and mobile applications that communicate with vehicles. | USA. USA. | $10M | 01/03/2018 |
| Regulus Cyber | Regulus defends sensors and communication channels from being spoofed or hacked. | Israel | $5,1M | 26/04/2018 |
| Motorq | Motorq is a software platform for connected car data and analytics. | USA. USA. | $2M | 17/05/2018 |