Yum! Brands to Acquire Dragontail Systems
Yum! Brands Inc. and Dragontail Systems Limited announced that they have entered into a binding agreement under which Yum! Brands would acquire the Perth, Australia-based technology company. The deal would give Yum! Brands the ability to scale Dragontail’s artificial intelligence (AI) kitchen order management and delivery technology globally.
Dragontail’s platform is currently deployed across nearly 1,500 Pizza Hut restaurants in over 10 countries. Earlier this year, Dragontail Systems revealed it is working in partnership with Pizza Hut Israel to deploy autonomous drones for pizza delivery.
Dragontail’s platform is focused on optimizing and managing the entire food preparation process from order through delivery. Its AI-based solution automates the kitchen flow combined with the process of dispatching drivers. The technology can also operate with outside food delivery partners. In addition, Dragontail’s platform offers consumer-facing capabilities that enable customers to track their order.
“With Dragontail, we expect to tap into the power of AI to accelerate and further enhance our delivery technology capabilities, especially at Pizza Hut, and optimize the end-to-end food preparation process,” said Chris Turner, Chief Financial Officer, Yum! Brands.
Dragontail's Managing Director, Ido Levanon, said Yum! Brands and Dragontail have been working in "a fruitful collaboration for years" and that Dragontail's board of directors fully supports this transaction.
Another Acquistion
Completion of the acquisition of Dragontail under the transaction documents will mark Yum! Brands’ third technology acquisition in 2021. In March, Yum! Brands acquired the business of Kvantum Inc., an AI-based consumer insights and marketing performance analytics company with a proven track record of adding significant value in enabling data-driven decisions to drive return on advertising dollars and increase sales. Also in March, Yum! Brands also acquired Tictuk Technologies, an omnichannel ordering and marketing platform company offering more ways for consumers globally to access and order KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill through text, social media and other conversational channels.
Yum! Brands expects the Dragontail acquisition to close by the end of Q3.Yum! Brands has agreed to pay A$93.5 million in cash for all of the issued share capital in Dragontail (on a fully diluted basis). The proposed acquisition of Dragontail by Yum! Brands, which is to be implemented by way of an Australian share scheme of arrangement in accordance with the transaction documents and Australian corporate law, is conditional on, amongst other matters, Australian Federal Court approval and approval by Dragontail shareholders and certain other regulatory waivers and rulings.