What companies are finding funding or having a big exit? From startup investments to grants to acquisitions, Dallas Innovates tracks what’s happening in North Texas money every Thursday. Sign up for our e-newsletter to stay in the loop.
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Elm Park Capital closes $300M third fund
Dallas-based private debt investment firm Elm Park Capital announced that it has completed the final close of Fund III and reached its hard cap of $300 million.
The closing of this third fund represents $890 million of cumulative capital Elm Park has raised since the firm was formed, PE Hub reported.
Elm Park lends to lower middle market companies and private equity firms, and it has closed on 30 lower middle market private debt investments since its inception, the firm said. Elm Park invests in a variety of industries with a focus on healthcare, software, technology-enabled business services, and financial services.
Phynd Technologies raises $8M for medtech platform
Dallas-based medtech company Phynd Technologies Inc., announced Tuesday that it completed an $8 million Series B funding round.
Phynd offers healthcare providers an information management SaaS solution that manages all operational provider data. Its Phynd 360° Provider Platform details who the providers are, where they work, what they do, and what networks they serve, according to a release.
Investors participating in the round include the MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Rex Ventures (the investment arm of UNC Health Care), Orlando Healthcare Ventures, and Dallas Venture Partners. Phynd said that Rex Ventures, Orlando Healthcare, and Dallas Venture Partners participated in its Series A round.
“Phynd’s platform supports fundamental provider-dependent workflows: provider enrollment, management, reporting and search,” CEO Tom White said in a statement. “Funding from our partners will accelerate our commitment to elevate provider data to the same level of importance as patient information in a health system.”
Wildcat Capital invests in Chicago-based edtech firm
Fort Worth-based Wildcat Capital Management is one of nine investors in a $2.5 million Series B funding round by Chicago-based edtech company Packback, according to Crunchbase.
Packback made news in 2014 after scoring a $250,000 investment from Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban during an appearance on Shark Tank. Cuban also invested in the company in a 2018 Series A funding round that netted $4.2 million. Packback originally was a 24-hour textbook rental service, but has since pivoted into classroom software.
The new $2.5 million round was led by University Ventures, and it brings total funding for Packback to $10 million, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Naya Ventures raises $1M in equity offering
Irving-based Naya Ventures LLC reported in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had raised $1 million of a $2.5 million equity offering.
Naya is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses mostly on U.S. and India-based companies. It invests in and partners with companies that offer products and services in the mobile and cloud sectors that have the ability to tap into global markets, according to its website.
RevTech invests in Pensa Systems’ $5M round
Dallas-based RevTech Ventures was one of six investors in a $5 million round for Austin-based Pensa Systems that was led by Signia Venture Partners.
The funding brings Pensa Systems’ total to $7.2 million in two rounds, according to CrunchBase. Pensa is a provider of autonomous perceptions systems for inventory visibility. RevTech Ventures is an accelerator seed fund.
Additional funding news
Dallas-based Cresta Energy Capital has raised $163 million in a single venture fund, Cresta Energy Fund 1, which was announced earlier this month. Cresta said on its website that it leverages industry relationships and expertise to identify “great investments” before their value become obvious.
Plano-based SQWAQ Inc. said in a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had sold $103,540 of a $2.79 million equity offering. According to CEO Ted Lindsley’s LinkedIn page, SQWAQ is the mobile virtual network operator for high bandwidth IOT applications and currently is operating in stealth mode. SQWAQ founding member Stephen Perkins, on his LinkedIn page, said the startup is creating the network that “will empower commercial drones to fly beyond borders, not just beyond the line-of-sight.”
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
KonaTel acquires California voice/data services provider
Dallas-bases voice/data communications holding company KonaTel, Inc. announced that it had acquired California-based Apeiron Systems Inc., a provider of real-time voice/data business communications services, including cloud-based Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) and Internet of Things (IoT) services.
KonaTel said the deal allows it to execute a robust “as a service” cloud communications strategy built on an Application Programming Interface (API) strategy. Apeiron will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of KonaTel.
The company said that via its APIs and advanced web management dashboard, Apeiron’s control center supports the activation, control, and monitoring of a variety of data, voice, video, and messaging services, including Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS).
Earlier this month, KonaTel said that has raised all $1.3 million in an equity funding round.
Craftsman Capital buys Austin-based tech services provider
Dallas-based private equity firm Craftsman Capital has acquired CMIT Solutions, an Austin-based managed service provider of information technology services.
No financial terms of the deal were released.
The company said that the acquisition by Craftsman Capital positions it for long-term franchise growth, enhanced operations support at both the franchisor and franchisee levels, and gives it the ability to expand its market position, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman.
People’s United Bank buys VAR Technology
Mesquite-based VAR Technology Finance has been acquired by People’s United Bank and will become a division of LEAF Commercial Capital. It will retain its brand name.
No financial terms of the acquisition were released.
VAR Technology is a leasing and finance company that supports channel partners and their end-customers across small, medium, and large business technology engagements. It was founded in 1990.
Hg to buy TPG’s interest in Transporeon Group
Transporeon Group, a global cloud-based business network for industrial logistics, said that Hg has agreed to buy a majority interest in the company from Fort Worth-based TPG Capital, the private equity platform of global alternative asset firm TPG.
No financial details of the deal are being released.
Germany-based Ulm, Transporeon’s cloud-based logistics platform, links manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers with logistics service providers via the largest network of its kind. TPG invested in Transporeon in 2016.
Adeptus Health and Pipeline Health create ER joint venture
Los Angeles-based Pipeline Health, a community hospital ownership and management company, is expanding its Dallas-Fort Worth footprint via a joint venture with Lewisville-based Adeptus Health.
Under the joint venture, 22 freestanding emergency rooms will become licensed outpatient departments of City Hospital at White Rock, and will be renamed City Hospital Emergency Care, according to a release.
“We have a successful track record of improving community healthcare through innovation and rethinking how healthcare is delivered. We’re confident our personalized approach to ER care through the City Hospital Emergency Care facilities will be a win‐win for everyone, including patients, physicians, other caregivers and Dallas‐Fort Worth residents,” Pipeline Health President and founder Dr. Mark Bell said in a statement.
You can find a list of the 22 locations here.
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R E A D N E X T
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Two nonprofits will each receive $250,000 in grant funding. The Capital One grants are part of a $3.5 million commitment to 12 nonprofit organizations.
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Founded by Thomas White in 2013, Phynd added several big health systems to its roster last year, giving providers a single platform for all things digital—something like an Amazon for healthcare, White says.
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The Dallas firms are among 14 Texas shops "that founders will love" on Inc.'s 2021 list of private equity and venture capital firms. Inc.'s list of 146 founder-friendly investors is its biggest yet.
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Capital One Ventures has made one of its largest-ever cybersecurity investments in order to accelerate innovation in cloud-native security analytics by partnering with Securonix.
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Capital One wants to make travel an even more rewarding experience with unexpected amenities in a new 10,000-square-foot space in Terminal D. A second lounge is planned for D.C.'s Dulles airport.
