logo
Adastra Acquired by Global Investment Firm Carlyle

Adastra Acquired by Global Investment Firm Carlyle

National Post6 days ago
Article content
PRAGUE & TORONTO & LONDON & HONG KONG — Adastra Group SE ('Adastra'), a leading global IT consultancy and services provider specializing in AI, data and cloud transformations today announced that Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the Group. Completion of the acquisition is subject to standard regulatory approvals in several jurisdictions.
Article content
Founded in 2000 with headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic and Toronto, Canada, Adastra supports its customers throughout their AI, data, and cloud journey by defining data and AI-driven strategies and implementing transformative solutions to drive measurable business outcomes. It brings deep expertise in the financial services, automotive, manufacturing, TMT (technology, media and telecom), healthcare, retail and professional services sectors. The company has more than 2,000 employees across North America, Europe and Asia.
Article content
Article content
In partnership with Adastra's founders, Carlyle will support the business in growing its leading data, cloud and AI offerings, supporting existing and new customers, as well as expanding its international presence via organic investments and targeted M&A.
Article content
Equity for the investment will be provided jointly by Carlyle Europe Technology Partners V ('CETP'), a fund focused on investments in technology companies across Europe, and Carlyle Asia Partners Growth II ('CAPG'), a fund focused on investments in high-growth companies across a range of sectors in Asia. Carlyle will leverage its longstanding track record of investing in and scaling up leading IT services companies globally.
Article content
Rob Turner, CEO at Adastra, and Pavel Kysela, COO at Adastra, said: 'This is an exciting and transformative step for Adastra. With Carlyle's deep experience and global network, we believe we can unlock a new phase of growth for the business and capitalize on the substantial opportunity in the global market for AI, data, and cloud services. We would like to thank the team for all the hard work that has made Adastra the business it is today, and we look forward to this partnership with the Carlyle team.'
Article content
Vladimir Lasocki, Co-Head of the CETP investment advisory team, and Greg Zeluck, Co-Head of the CAPG investment advisory team, said: 'We are pleased to partner with Adastra's founders to back Rob, Pavel and their team, who together have built the company into a specialized, global data, cloud and AI services leader with a proven value proposition. In our view, there is a significant opportunity to expand Adastra's presence in the large, fast-growing and attractive global market for data, analytics, cloud, and AI transformations. With Carlyle's resources, global footprint, and deep experience in this space, we believe Adastra is well-positioned to further accelerate its growth trajectory through a combination of organic initiatives and M&A.'
Article content
About Carlyle
Article content
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit, and Carlyle AlpInvest. With $453 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2025, Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies, and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,300 people in 29 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle and LinkedIn at The Carlyle Group.
Article content
About Adastra
Article content
Adastra is a global leader in AI and data-driven transformation, helping organizations lead with artificial intelligence—responsibly, strategically, and at scale. With over 25 years of experience, Adastra empowers enterprise clients to unlock business value through data innovation, operational excellence, and smart customer engagement.
Article content
Trusted by some of the world's most prominent brands, Adastra delivers end-to-end solutions grounded in thoughtful strategy, robust governance, and deep technical expertise. From defining vision to ensuring execution, Adastra guides organizations through every stage of their AI, data and cloud journey—building future-ready capabilities and delivering measurable, lasting impact.
Article content
Adastra serves clients across key industries including financial services, automotive, manufacturing, technology, media and telecom (TMT), healthcare, retail, and professional services. The company employs more than 2,000 professionals across several market facing and global delivery centres.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Contacts
Article content
Media Contact
Article content
Nicholas Brown (EMEA)
Article content
Article content
nicholas.brown@carlyle.com
Article content
Article content
+44 7471 037 002
Article content
Lonna Leong (APAC)
lonna.leong@carlyle.com
+852 9023 1157
Article content
Article content
Article content
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NiCE to Acquire Cognigy - Advancing the Leading CX AI Platform to Accelerate AI-First Customer Experience
NiCE to Acquire Cognigy - Advancing the Leading CX AI Platform to Accelerate AI-First Customer Experience

Globe and Mail

timean hour ago

  • Globe and Mail

NiCE to Acquire Cognigy - Advancing the Leading CX AI Platform to Accelerate AI-First Customer Experience

NiCE (NASDAQ: NICE), a global leader in AI-powered customer experience, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cognigy, a global market leader in conversational and agentic AI. This strategic acquisition unites NiCE's market-leading CXone Mpower platform with Cognigy's leading conversational and agentic AI capabilities, enabling organizations to rapidly accelerate the adoption of AI-first customer service delivery, orchestrating AI agents seamlessly across the front and back office in a unified CX AI platform powered by purpose-built CX AI models. 'This is a landmark moment for NiCE, a strategic move that fast-tracks our AI innovation agenda and sets a new standard for customer experience in the AI era,' said Scott Russell, CEO of NiCE. 'By bringing a market leader in enterprise-grade conversational and agentic AI into the fold, we are accelerating global AI adoption, expanding into new global markets, and creating game-changing value for our customers, partners, and shareholders. Together, we are significantly advancing the future of AI-first customer experience.' Cognigy's flagship platform, enables enterprises to deploy AI agents that think, adapt, and act independently to deliver human-like service. Available in over 100 languages and on any channel, these agents deliver instant personalized service—freeing human agents to focus on complex, high-value interactions. Cognigy serves top-tier brands including Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé, and Lufthansa Group with demonstrated success, and is expected to deliver rapid 80% estimated ARR growth in 2026. Philipp Heltewig, Co-Founder and CEO of Cognigy, added, 'This transaction represents a pivotal step forward for Cognigy, one that brings immense opportunity for our customers and employees. NiCE is an exceptional organization whose global reach, deep expertise, and relentless focus on innovation will accelerate our growth and enhance the value we bring to our customers and partners. Together, we are uniquely positioned to shape the future of customer experience, uniting the best of trusted AI and human interactions.' NiCE's Board of Directors unanimously approved the agreement to acquire Cognigy in a transaction that values Cognigy at approximately $955 million. The transaction value includes an approximate $50 million time-bound holdback which is comprised of $25 million in cash and 158,000 American Depositary Shares. The transaction will be financed with funds on-hand and closing is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, the timing of which is dependent on applicable regulatory authorities. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. Company Conference Call NiCE management will host a conference call today, July 28, 2025, at 8:30 AM ET, 13:30 GMT, 15:30 Israel, to discuss the acquisition of Cognigy. A live webcast and replay will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website. To access, please register by clicking here: Jefferies LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to NiCE with respect to the contemplated acquisition. Qatalyst Partners is acting as exclusive financial advisor to the sellers with respect to the contemplated acquisition. About NiCE NiCE (NASDAQ: NICE) is transforming the world with AI that puts people first. Our purpose-built AI-powered platforms automate engagements into proactive, safe, intelligent actions, empowering individuals and organizations to innovate and act, from interaction to resolution. Trusted by organizations throughout 150+ countries worldwide, NiCE's platforms are widely adopted across industries connecting people, systems, and workflows to work smarter at scale, elevating performance across the organization, delivering proven measurable outcomes. About Cognigy Cognigy is transforming the customer service industry with its leading advanced AI Agent platform for enterprise contact centers. Its award-winning solution, Cognigy AI, empowers enterprises to deliver instant, hyper-personalized, multilingual service on any channel. By integrating Generative and Conversational AI to create Agentic AI, Cognigy delivers AI Agents that redefine customer experiences, drive satisfaction, and support contact center employees in real-time. Over 1,000 brands worldwide trust Cognigy and its vast partner network to create AI customer service agents for their contact center. Cognigy's impressive worldwide customer portfolio includes Bosch, Nestlé, DHL, Frontier Airlines, Lufthansa Group, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Trademark Note: NiCE and the NiCE logo are trademarks of NICE Ltd. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners. For a full list of NICE's marks, please see: Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including the statements by Mr. Russell, are based on the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of NICE Ltd. (the 'Company'). In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as 'believe,' 'expect,' 'seek,' 'may,' 'will,' 'intend,' 'should,' 'project,' 'anticipate,' 'plan,' 'estimate,' or similar words. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described herein, including but not limited to significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction, the Company's inability to close the acquisition of Cognigy due to the failure to obtain required regulatory approvals, satisfy other conditions to the closing of the proposed transaction, or for any other reason; the failure to close the proposed transaction in the timeframe anticipated; the Company's inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Cognigy acquisition or effectively integrate Cognigy into the Company; the Company's incurrence of unexpected costs, liabilities or delays arising from the transaction or the integration of Cognigy into the Company; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive acquisition agreement; the potential impact of the acquisition on relationships with the Company's or Cognigy's commercial counter-parties, including, but not limited to, its partners and distributors; the impact of changes in general economic and business conditions; competition; successful execution of the Company's growth strategy; success and growth of the Company's cloud Software-as-a-Service business; rapid changes in technology and market requirements; the implementation of AI capabilities in certain products and services, decline in demand for the Company's products; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; difficulties in making additional acquisitions or difficulties or effectively integrating acquired operations; loss of market share; an inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution arrangements; the Company's dependency on third-party cloud computing platform providers, hosting facilities and service partners; cyber security attacks or other security incidents; privacy concerns; changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, the effects of additional tax liabilities resulting from our global operations, the effect of unexpected events or on going events or geo-political conditions, including those arising from political instability or armed conflict that may disrupt our business and the global economy; our ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; the effect of newly enacted or modified laws, regulation or standards on the Company and our products and various other factors and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'). For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting the company, refer to the Company's reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them, except as required by law.

Kelly McParland: How Toronto built a condo glut amid a housing shortage
Kelly McParland: How Toronto built a condo glut amid a housing shortage

National Post

timean hour ago

  • National Post

Kelly McParland: How Toronto built a condo glut amid a housing shortage

Article content While agonizing over six-plexes, the city is eagerly filling its crowded core with a bevy of new towers so high they've been accorded their own descriptive. At least eight 'supertall' skyscrapers are in the works, the largest (for now) being the SkyTower at the very foot of Yonge Street on the Lake Ontario shoreline, in a neighbourhood once envisioned as a sort of waterfront oasis away from the downtown crowds, but long-since abandoned to forests of obstructive condo towers and office buildings. Article content SkyTower is just the first of six high-rises planned for an address that was previously home to the Toronto Star newspaper, traditionally a campaigner for a 'liveable,' low-rise city, but which decamped last year for a posh location a short distance away. Article content At 105 storeys, SkyTower is six storeys taller than 19 Bloor West, another 'supertall' planned farther north at the confluence of Yonge and Bloor, ground zero for high-end shoppers and fashionistas. That structure, in turn, is just down the street and nine metres taller than The One, a much-troubled 85-storey real estate catastrophe that's been through partnership battles, financial crises, creditor protection and high-wire legal warfare in the decade since it was announced as what would then have been the city's tallest condominium building. It's now being revamped and completed by a court-approved builder after failing to attract a buyer a year ago. Article content Glitzy as the supertalls may appear, they find themselves thrusting skyward in a market fast plunging in the opposite direction. A survey by research firm Urbanation Inc. reported that a total of just 502 condo units were sold in the second quarter across the entire Greater Toronto and Hamilton region, an area stretching well beyond Toronto itself to include some seven million people. Article content That's down 69 per cent from last year, and 91 per cent below the average of the past decade, the lowest levels in 30 years. Only 170 of those sales were in Toronto itself. Meanwhile, 19 Bloor West alone is expected to add almost 1,300 new units when it's completed. Article content Don't reach for your hankie just yet, mind. For years now, Toronto condo sales have been largely a game of buy-and-flip. Some 70 per cent of new units went to investors hoping to make a quick profit by flipping the end product once construction ended, or renting it out at eye-watering rates. But rents are falling along with the market glut, leaving investors holding units worth less than they agreed to pay and having trouble borrowing enough to cover the difference. Dozens of developments have been cancelled or delayed as a result, many stuffed with tiny units 400- to 600 square feet in size, built by developers persuaded people would happily attempt to raise families in shoeboxes. Article content Anyone old enough to remember when Canadian teams still won Stanley Cups should know that busts are as integral to the real estate business as tyrants are to Russia. There hasn't been a serious one in Ontario since a crash in the 1990s that lasted about seven years, so a substantial shock now could hardly be deemed unreasonable. Article content Maybe it will force some useful changes. Something has to happen to that mass backlog of tiny, unwanted boxes in the sky. You can't solve a housing shortage with base prices starting at $1 million. Nor can you pretend you're building 'homes' when seven in 10 go to quick-buck investors planning to flip them at the first opportunity. Article content If Toronto politicians want to get serious about a problem they love to moan about but never really address, they'll organize a future with fewer hundred-storey playpens that will 'Transform Toronto's Skyline' — as if that should be a priority for an overcrowded city with some of North America's worst traffic — and recognize that a few hundred six-plexes would do a lot more to serve home-hungry people than another vanity project in the sky. Article content

Audiense Launches MCP Connectors: Bringing Audience Intelligence into your AI Workflow
Audiense Launches MCP Connectors: Bringing Audience Intelligence into your AI Workflow

Toronto Star

timean hour ago

  • Toronto Star

Audiense Launches MCP Connectors: Bringing Audience Intelligence into your AI Workflow

Fort Worth, TX, July 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Audiense launches MCP Connectors: Bringing Audience Intelligence into your AI Workflow Fort Worth, TX – July 28, 2025 — Audiense, the leading audience intelligence platform, today unveiled its MCP (Model Context Protocol) connectors – seamless integrations that bring audience insights directly into AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT. This marks a major leap forward in how marketing, research, and strategy teams work with audience insights – making them accessible, actionable, and customizable, without a single line of code. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Bringing Audience Intelligence into the AI Ecosystem The new MCP connectors act as real-time bridges between all Audiense consumer intelligence products (including Insights, SOPRISM, Demand, and Tweet Binder) and today's leading generative AI platforms. Instead of pulling data manually or scanning through insights, users can interact with audience data directly within the AI tools they're already using and generate outputs like: Persona summaries Persona summaries Segment comparisons Persona summaries Segment comparisons Full-funnel campaign strategies Persona summaries Segment comparisons Full-funnel campaign strategies Content calendars Persona summaries Segment comparisons Full-funnel campaign strategies Content calendars White space opportunities Creative concepts and briefs All using simple prompts, bringing audience intelligence into their everyday workflows, instantly and intuitively. 'AI isn't just a productivity hack; it's becoming the new interface for how brands engage with their audiences. With MCP, we're embedding Audiense insights directly into that workflow, empowering users to interact with their audience segments in real-time, uncover deeper understanding, and shape strategy without friction. It's not just about working faster, it's about building smarter, more dynamic conversations with the people that matter most.' - Jim Swift, CEO of Audiense Built For How You Work Whether you're shaping strategy or executing creative, Audiense's MCP connectors are designed to support the way modern teams operate, helping them move faster, think deeper, and create better. For Marketers: Build campaign strategies, messaging frameworks, and creative briefs on the fly. For Analysts: Compare audience segments, spot trends, and test hypotheses without touching code. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW For Strategists: Uncover white space, surface opportunities, and turn audience insight into competitive advantage. For Content & Creative Teams: Generate content calendars, brainstorm ideas, and adapt tone of voice to each persona. 'This isn't just about saving time. It's about possibility. Whether you're writing a brief, testing a hypothesis, or developing an agent, MCP connectors give you a faster, more flexible way to turn insight into action.' - Javier Burón, Product Strategist at Audiense Rethinking How You Work with Insights MCP connectors are designed for speed, flexibility, and real-world applications – redefining how teams interact with insights and deliver outcomes. What sets MCP apart: Fully customizable: Ask any question, your way Fully customizable: Ask any question, your way Platform-neutral: Pull insights from across Audiense products Fully customizable: Ask any question, your way Platform-neutral: Pull insights from across Audiense products No-code: Built for everyone, not just technical teams Fully customizable: Ask any question, your way Platform-neutral: Pull insights from across Audiense products No-code: Built for everyone, not just technical teams Outcome-driven: Get briefs, slides, summaries and strategies, not just data Fully customizable: Ask any question, your way Platform-neutral: Pull insights from across Audiense products No-code: Built for everyone, not just technical teams Outcome-driven: Get briefs, slides, summaries and strategies, not just data Secure by design: Authenticate through your existing credentials and navigate data just as you would, safely and seamlessly Interoperable: Connect with other MCP connectors to build smart workflows –like instantly turning a report summary into a Canva presentation This launch reaffirms Audiense's commitment to innovation and to building the future of audience intelligence alongside the evolution of AI. To learn more about the MCP connectors, read our latest blog or request a demo. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW About Audiense Audiense is an AI-powered suite of solutions that helps brands transform complex customer data into meaningful insights and measurable outcomes. Backed by PSG Equity, Audiense combines capabilities from location intelligence, ecommerce analytics, and real-time audience insights to deliver a holistic view of customer behavior, motivation, and intent. Built for strategy, marketing, and growth teams, Audiense empowers brands to engage the right people online and in person, and to personalize every interaction with clarity and precision. Media Contact: Saman Bhatti VP, Growth saman@

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store