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Align Capital Partners closes second fund at $450M

Private equity firm Align Capital Partners, which is headquartered in Dallas and Cleveland, Ohio, has closed its second private equity investment fund at $450 million.

Align Capital focuses its investments on business-to-business (B2B) business services, specialty manufacturing, and value-added distribution companies.

Align Capital is led by managing partners Steve Dyke, Rob Langley, and Chris Jones, and it focuses on the lower middle market with a growth-focused approach for companies with less than $150 million in enterprise value. With the close of its second fund called ACP II, Align Capital has raised more than $775 million since its founding in 2016.

“ACP has built our brand around being disciplined growth investors in the true lower middle market, and we continue to believe in the potential it offers,” Langley said in a statement. “There is no change to our focus in ACP II. Our willingness to start small and aggressively invest in a company’s people, processes, and systems has resulted in a distinctive portfolio in ACP I that we’re proud to own.”

Align Capital Partners said its inaugural $325 million fund closed in September 2016 after only four months of marketing. Since then, the firm has acquired eight platforms and closed 16 add-on investments to help its platform companies significantly scale, according to a statement.

Align Capital Partners has 18 team members in Dallas and Cleveland. Included among the firm’s portfolio companies are Lewisville-based Alliance Source Testing and Fort Worth-based Southwest Elevator Co.

AWH raises $129.8M in a pooled investment fund

Dallas venture capital firm AWH Capital LP has raised $129.8 million in its pooled investment AWH Opportunity Fund 1, according to an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

AWH Capital was founded in 2002 by its portfolio manager, Austin Hopper. It offers portfolio management, financial planning, and research services.

AWH Capital’s top holdings include Tempur Sealy International, Cousins Properties, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Stars Group, and frontdoor, inc., reports Fintel.io.

Holt Capital Partners raises $12.7M for fund

Fort Worth-based Holt Capital Partners has raised $12.7 million in equity for its pooled-investment Equilibrium Stock Fund, the firm reported in an SEC filing.

Holt Capital Partners is an employee-owned investment management firm serving both institutions and families.

According to its website, the firm manages investment portfolios using both Active Indexing and Active Equity Strategies, including an “Inflation Hedge” strategy focused on undervalued publicly-traded real assets. 

And, via its Private Investment Office, Holt Capital Partners says it acts as the chief investment officer for the large and complex multi-manager portfolios of family offices and charitable organizations. 

TPG helps lead $400M funding round for software maker Toast

TPG, which has headquarters in Fort Worth and San Francisco, was among the lead investors in raising $400 million for Toast Inc., a provider of point-of-sale technology for restaurants.

Also leading the round for the Boston-based software company was Bessemer Venture Partners. Participating investors include Tiger Global Management and Greenoaks Capital.

The new funding raised Toast’s valuation to $4.9 billion, up from $2.7 billion in April 2019 when the startup raised $250 million in a funding round. Toast plans to use the funding to invest in its tech and to fund research and development. 

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

VitalTech acquires senior engagement platform Breezie

VitalTech, a Plano-headquartered provider of connected care, digital health, and remote patient monitoring, is acquiring Breezie, a multitiered tablet-based platform that drives senior engagement and compliance. 

According to a statement, Breezie’s capabilities—specifically its API that facilitates social networking—will further expand the potential of VitalTech’s proprietary VitalCare platform for engaged senior living and virtual care. The new module, called VitalCare Social, helps to address issues of social isolation by allowing seniors to access social media, stream content, play games online, and engage in local community events.

Breezie is headquartered in London, England, with an office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Dairy Farmers of America to acquire Dean Foods’ assets

Dallas-based milk producer Dean Foods has agreed to sell most of its business to Kansas City-headquartered Dairy Farmers of America, which is said to be the nation’s largest farmer-owned dairy cooperative, for $425 million.

Dairy Farmers of America said the deal would give it “44 of Dean’s facilities and associated store delivery system.”

Dean Foods, the largest dairy processor in the nation, filed for bankruptcy protection on November 12 and announced the same day that it was negotiating a possible sale with Dairy Farmers of America.

Any deal must first be approved by the bankruptcy court.

Caregiver Inc. takes over Mosaic’s Texas services

Mosaic, a Nebraska-based provider of personalized services to more than 3,700 people with diverse needs in 10 states, has transitioned its services in Texas to Fort Worth-based Caregiver Inc.

We first told you in December that Caregiver Inc., an intellectual and developmental disability provider was going to acquire Mosaic’s Texas operations. 

The deal was facilitated by Vertess, a healthcare mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. Caregiver operates 800 properties in Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio, and employs 3,900 people. Mosaic provides services in 10 states.  

Assure Holdings completes its acquisition of Neuro-Pro Monitoring

The acquisition of Farmers Branch-based intraoperative neuromonitoring services provider Neuro-Pro Monitoring by Denver-based Assure Holdings Corp. has been completed, according to a statement.

Assure Holdings is also a provider of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) services. Neuro-Pro Monitoring is one of the largest IONM service providers in Texas.

The acquisition is expected to strengthen and diversify Assure Holdings’ revenue stream with a substantial increase in the number of procedures.

Highlander Partners acquires a majority stake in Romanian food brand

Dallas-based middle market private equity firm Highlander Partners LP has acquired a majority stake in SanoVita, a Romania-based food brand.

SanoVita—Latin for “healthy life”—works to create a healthier alternative to traditional foods, offering a range of products, including snacks, cereals, rice cakes, tofu, and nut and seed mixes, according to a statement.  

The founders of SanoVita plan to continue supporting the development of the food business.

European firm acquires Blue River Partners

Dallas-based Blue River Partners, a provider of outsourced solutions to alternative asset managers, has been acquired by IQ-EQ, a European investor services provider.

No details of the deal were released.

Founded in 2009, Blue River provides fund administration to private equity funds; fund operations, middle office, and outsourced CFO services to hedge funds; and management company operations services, as well as regulatory compliance solutions over all advisory structures, reports AlphaWeek.

Mississippi company buys Arlington’s StarRFoam

Arlington-based StarRFoam, a manufacturer of molded polystyrene solutions, has been acquired by Atlas Roofing Corp.

StarRFoam has manufacturing facilities in Texas and Arizona. Mississippi-based Atlas Roofing said the addition of StarRFoam gives the company a significant geographic expansion and a highly-aligned portfolio of products.

The deal also further establishes Atlas as the largest manufacturer of molded polystyrene in the U.S., according to a statement. 

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