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Ocado, an online grocer and robotics company, has resolved a three-year intellectual property dispute with its Norwegian rival, AutoStore, the UK-listed retailer announced on Saturday.
As part of the settlement, AutoStore will pay £200 million to Ocado for its ecommerce automation technology. No reason was given for the payment, according to a statement from Ocado.
In 2020, AutoStore claimed that Ocado had infringed its intellectual property and sought to block the importation of British-made robots to the US by filing a complaint with the US International Trade Commission. However, under the terms of the agreement, both companies will withdraw their patent litigation claims and can continue to use and market their existing products.
Ocado’s CEO, Tim Steiner, expressed his satisfaction with the resolution, stating, “I am pleased that we have worked together to resolve our differences and can now continue to focus on what we do best — innovating, developing, and enabling partners to access world-beating technology.”
Mats Hovland Vikse, the CEO of AutoStore, also expressed his satisfaction with the settlement, saying, “This settlement resolves our differences and allows us to continue focusing on our respective business goals. We are glad to have achieved a resolution that gives both companies the opportunity and freedom to commercialize our extensive patent portfolios.”
Ocado, known for its online retail business in the UK, has expanded its focus to selling robotic warehouses to traditional supermarkets. The company has been selling its ecommerce technology to other retailers since 2013, with clients including Kroger in the US and Groupe Casino in France.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Ocado’s international ecommerce business could generate £1.1 billion in revenue and £600 million in underlying earnings by 2030, compared to £66 million in sales in 2022.
Despite recording a pre-tax loss of £289.5 million for the first half of 2022, up 37% from the previous year, Ocado noted that its technology business had become profitable for the first time. This news resulted in a 19% increase in Ocado shares.
AutoStore, which is partially owned by SoftBank, has faced challenges since its IPO in October 2021, with its stock value declining by more than 40% by the end of 2022. In an effort to boost sales, Hovland Vikse announced a reduction in upfront costs for its technology.
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