Follow the Money: Actuate Raises $6.5M in Series B Funding, Kanarys Raises $1.5M; Topgolf Inks Franchise Deal

What companies are finding funding or having a big exit? From startup investments to grants and 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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Actuate Therapeutics raises $6.5M in Series B-3 funding

Actuate Therapeutics Inc., a Fort Worth clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has raised an additional $6.5 million in a Series B-3 funding round.

The round was led by Fort Worth-based Bios Partners with Kairos Ventures, DEFTA Partners, and other existing investors participating. The Series B-3 round brings total funding for Actuate’s Series B to over $28.2 million, according to a statement.

Actuate announced in May it had raised $21.7 million in Series B funding.

Actuate plans to use the funding to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial in myelofibrosis, a type of bone marrow cancer that disrupts a body’s normal production of blood cells. It also plans to expand its ongoing clinical trial to include a branch for treating patients with a combination of 9-ING-41—a small molecule inhibitor— with irinotecan, a drug used to treat colon and rectal cancer.

Actuate focuses on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic agents for patients with cancer or inflammatory diseases.

NuZee files for $12M IPO and raises $2M in private equity

NuZee Inc., a specialty coffee company that moved its corporate headquarters to Plano from California, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed $12 million initial public offering, as well as announcing it had raised $2 million in private equity financing by selling 111,738 shares of common stock at a price of $17.85 per share, according to a release.

All of the company’s investors in the private equity raise were non-U.S. persons or accredited investors, according to a statement. And, all of the investors purchased their shares outside of the U.S.

NuZee plans to use the money from the proposed offering to support the expansion of its co-packing activities, invest in the development of its new co-packing hub in Plano, work capital needs, and for other general corporate purposes.

Kanarys raises $1.5M in pre-seed funding round

Dallas-based startup Kanarys—a tech platform seeking to foster collaboration between companies and employees on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace—has closed a pre-seed funding round at $1.5 million.

Earlier this month, Kanarys reported raising $1 million in a pre-seed round, according to Crunchbase. In February, we reported on the company raising $575,000 in pre-seed funding.

Co-founders Mandy Price (Kanarys’ CEO) and Star Carter join around 50 black women in the United States who have raised more than $1 million in venture capital funding. Bennie King also is a co-founder. The team celebrated the launch of its platform in July with a party at One Arts Plaza.

Sweat Equities leads WellWell’s $3.9M Series A round

Dallas-based investment management firm Sweat Equities leads a $3.9 million Series A funding round for functional drink maker WellWell.

Sweat Equities was founded in 2015 by ex-Earthbound Farms CEO Charlie Sweat. Sweat has joined WellWell’s board of directors as part of this deal, according to a report on BevNet. WellWell is headquartered in New York City.

Earlier this month, we reported on Sweat Equity leading a $8.3 million investment round in Mooala, a Dallas-based dairy-free beverage company.

RSF Partners raises $75.5M for real estate fund

RSF Partners, a Dallas private equity firm, has raised $75.5 million of a $300 million equity offering in its real estate-related RSF/Valor Partners LP fund, according to a filing with the U.S. SEC.

RSF Partners invests in real estate assets and related companies, according to its website. It mainly focuses on the senior living sector as well as opportunistic commercial real estate investments.

Founded in 1998, the firm says it has invested more than $1 billion in discretionary private equity capital across all real estate product types across the nation.

Harvest Returns closes $220K raise for Florida bamboo farm

Harvest Returns has finished a $220,000 capital raise for BB Farming, a bamboo farm in Central Florida, the Fort Worth-based investment platform for agriculture announced in a statement.

BB Farming plans to use the funding to double its land for bamboo production from six to 12 acres. Recently, BB Farming closed on a parcel of land adjacent to its current operation in Fort Pierce, which has been growing bamboo since early 2019, according to a statement.

Created in 2016, Harvest Returns was founded by two military veterans to bring agricultural producers together with investors.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Topgolf signs franchise deal to expand in Asia

Dallas-based sports and entertainment company Topgolf has continued its international expansion through a new franchise agreement with Sports Entertainment Asia, H.K. Ltd. (SEAL).

The Asian company plans to open venues in Greater China, which is made up of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and the Philippines, according to a statement.

“This franchise partnership marks a pivotal step in the Topgolf growth story. We take a bold and purposeful approach to connecting communities around the globe, and one of the ways we are doing this is through strategic partnerships to expand our presence in international markets,” said Topgolf CEO Dolf Berle in a statement.

Each of these Topgolf venues will be owned and operated by SEAL, which is composed of Hong Kong-based Parkview Leisure & Entertainment Co. Ltd., and SEAL TG US, LLC, led by JLM Financial Partners and Chaucer Global.

Siemens to acquire Indiana DMLS software maker

Siemens, which bases its PLM Software operations in Plano, has agreed to acquire Atlas 3D Inc.

The Indiana-based Atlas 3D is a developer of software that works with direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) printers to automatically provide design engineers with the optimal print orientation and needed support structures for additive parts in near real-time.

Atlas 3D is expected to join Siemens Digital Industries Software, where its solutions will expand additive manufacturing capabilities in the Xcelerator portfolio of software, according to a statement.

The acquisition is expected to close this month.

Align and Elevate combine midstream assets in East Texas

Dallas-based Align Midstream Partners II LLC and Houston-based Elevate Midstream Partners LLC have combined their respective East Texas asset bases.

Align is a midstream company focused on servicing producers’ gathering and treatment needs in East Texas, while Elevate is a full-service provider of value-enhancing midstream solutions.

Both companies are backed by Dallas private equity firm Tailwater Capital, which focuses on energy private equity investments.

Align, led by industry veterans Fritz Brinkman and Matthew Osborn, will assume operatorship of the combined asset base immediately. It adds more than 180 miles of active pipeline to Align’s existing footprint across the Panola, Rusk, and Harrison counties.

SKF Group acquires Addison-based GoPlant

GoPlant, an Addison-based provider of an industrial mobile-worker task management, data collection, and decision support application, has been acquired by SKF Group.

A brand of Form Automation Solutions, GoPlant was released in 2015 and is designed for use by operators in the field in such industries as food and beverage, oil and gas, chemical, power generation, water and wastewater, and manufacturing.

No terms of the acquisition were released.

Formed in 1907, Sweden-based SKF Group is a global technology provider that develops technologies and creates products.