Smart Pen Maker Anoto Acquires Longtime Partner Livescribe

Anoto, the digital writing firm based out of Sweden, has acquired long time partner Livescribe, another smart pen maker, for $15 million. The deal is expected to close this month. 

The deal was all cash and Anoto says that it has signed a placement agreement with Sweden’s Carnegie Investment Bank AB to issue 158 million shares in Anoto, for a dilution of a maximum of 15 percent. Anoto has also taken a short-term loan of $2.9 million.

Under the terms of agreement, Anoto will acquire Livescribe’s entire business operations, technology and IP. In addition, the Livescribe brand and existing infrastructure will be retained with a goal of strengthening the position of both companies through the development of new products.

Founded in 2007 by Jim Marggraf and based in Oakland, California, Livescribe design and manufacture smartpens that enable customers to capture, search and share handwritten notes on digital devices. Livescribe has raised $68 million from investors, which include Qualcomm, Crosslink Capital and Scale Venture Partners.

Stein Revelsby, CEO of Anoto, said in a statement: “Acquiring Livescribe is another important step in consolidating the Anoto ecosystem and realizing synergies in hardware and software development, supply chain and operations, and sales distribution”, “We are already working on a new range of products to be launched in Livescribe’s sales channels in 2016.”

Gilles Bouchard, CEO of Livescribe, said in a statement: “By joining forces with Anoto, we see huge potential for smartpen technology to expand beyond the consumer market and beyond writing and drawing on paper”, “We’ve had a successful licensing partnership with Anoto since Livescribe was founded and I am confident that becoming part of Anoto Group will strengthen Livescribe’s position in the consumer market and allow us to pursue many exciting new opportunities in the years to come.”

Headquartered in Lund, Sweden, Anoto Group AB is a technology company that develops and licenses smart pens technology. The company has about 110 employees, with offices in Boston, Basingstoke and Tokyo. The company holds more than 300 international patents on their technology and some 300 additional patent applications. Anoto plans to use the acquisition to work on a new range of products to be launched in Livescribe’s sales channels next year. 

Image credit: Livescribe