Strategic Buyers like Docusign Dominate Tech M&A

Strategic buyers are trumping private equity in tech acquisitions in 2024. 

An example is Nasdaq-traded Docusign's (DOCU) acquisition of Lexion, an AI-powered agreement management tool, for $165m.  It is an interesting example of expanding in AI through acquisition. Lexion is essentially an intelligent contracts database, that does all the smart interpretation of contracts. They started focusing on law firms and expanded into corporates. They spent time building their machine learning stack which required upfront investment.

Bain and Hellman & Friedman tried to acquire Docusign in February which fell through following failure to agree on a price shortly after which Docusign announced 400 layoffs. 

Docusign has 1.5 million clients in 180 countries.

Royal Mint Announces Precious Metals Recycling Facility in South Wales

The UK's oldest company with a history of over one thousand years. the Royal Mint, found in 886 AD, has announced a modern facility in South Wales which extracts gold from Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). Up to 4,000 tonnes of PCBs (found in TVs, laptops and mobile phones) from E-waste will be processed annually. Sean Millard, Chief Growth Office of the Royal Mint, stated the factory underpinned the company's commitment to sustainable precious metals.