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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CoveMark invests in lamb producer Capra Foods
Dallas-based private equity firm CoveMark has invested for a second time in Capra Foods to expand its operations to align with existing customer demand, according to a statement.
“The Capra team’s commitment to animal welfare and ethical protein production as well as the land along with their long-standing relationships with key retailers such as Whole Foods are just a few reasons why we wanted to invest,” Aaron Cook, CEO of CoveMark, said in the statement.
Founded in 2012, CoveMark is a sponsor and diversified alternative investment manager. Located a little over 150 miles south of Dallas in Goldthwaite, Texas, Capra is a provider of lamb proteins sold across the country.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Jacobs to buy John Wood Group’s nuclear business
Dallas-based Jacobs is going to acquire John Wood Group’s nuclear business for roughly $300 million.
John Wood Group is a multinational energy services company based in Aberdeen, Scotland.The deal is expected to close by Jacobs’ fiscal 2020 second quarter.
“This acquisition further strengthens Jacobs’ position in highly profitable and complementary sectors within nuclear and defense, enhancing our recognized program management skills with deep, technical expertise,” Steve Demetriou, Jacobs Chair and CEO, said in a statement.
Jacobs is a global professional services provider with roughly $12 billion in revenue and more than 50,000 employees.
Software provider Dairy.com is acquired by Banneker Partners
Frisco-based Dairy.com has reportedly been acquired by Banneker Partners, a San Francisco-based private investment firm focused on building long-term value in software businesses.
No terms were disclosed, and a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Banneker (Dairy.com) Investors, LLC offered no details.
About a year ago, Dairy.com, a global provider of software-as-a-service solutions for dairy supply chains, announced it was buying Richardson-based Data Specialists Inc. Soon after, Dairy.com announced a new organizational structure following the acquisition, realigning some management responsibilities at the firm.
Lightview Capital to acquire Grapevine’s Buchanan Technologies
New Jersey-based Lightview Capital has agreed to acquire Buchanan Technologies, the Grapevine-based provider of IT support and services.
No financial information was released on the deal. Buchanan’s Canadian headquarters are in Mississauga, Ontario.
Buchanan provides cloud services, managed services, support operations, professional services, on-site field services, depot services, and tech consulting.
It focuses on IT support and services for corporations around the globe, and has 500 consultants, engineers, and architects providing solutions to its clients.
Vistra Energy to acquire Ambit in $475M deal
Irving-based Vistra Energy has agreed to buy Ambit Energy, a Dallas-based multilevel marketing company providing electricity and natural gas services, in an all-cash deal valued at $475 million.
After the deal closes, Vistra’s share of the ERCOT residential market will grow from roughly 25 percent to about 32 percent, as well as an industry-leading 26 percent in all competitive U.S. markets. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, controls the flow of electric power on the Texas Interconnection, supplying power to more than 25 million Texas customers—roughly 90 percent of Texas’ electric load.
“This acquisition offers significant benefits including consequential synergies and a material enhancement of Vistra’s generation to retail load match, with total customers reaching nearly 5 million, and our expected returns from the transaction representing a superior use of capital,” Curt Morgan, Vistra’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Ambit serves roughly 1.1 million residential customer equivalents across 17 states.
Signify Health will merge with Remedy Partners
Dallas-based medtech company Signify Health and Connecticut-based Remedy Partners have agreed to merge, creating a unified value-based payment platform for health systems, health plans, physician groups, and life science organizations.
The merger will create a company with combined revenue of more than $600 million, with significant double-digit revenue growth. It also positions the merged company for accelerated growth across several markets, according to a statement.
Signify Health is a tech company that supports in-home care and offers care management services, while Remedy Partners is a software provider that collaborates with healthcare organizations to launch payment programs. Both are portfolio companies of New Mountain Capital LLC.
No financial terms of the deal were released. Signify Health was founded in 2017 as the result of a merger between Advance Health and CenseoHealth.
Integrity Marketing acquires Ohio-based insurance marketer
Dallas-based Integrity Marketing Group, LLC announced it has acquired the Ohio-based insurance marketing organization American Investment Strategies.
Integrity is an independent distributor of life and health insurance products, while AIS serves the nation’s midwest with a broad range of personal and commercial insurance products.
No financial terms of the private transaction were released.
Quorum Software acquires Fort Worth’s OGsys
OGsys has been acquired by Quorum Software, a digital transformer for the oil and gas industry. No financial terms were released.
OGsys is a provider of cloud-based oil and gas accounting software. According to a statement, the acquisition complements Quorum’s accounting solutions for mid-market and enterprise companies with accounting software designed for growing businesses.
Quorum Software is a Thoma Bravo portfolio company.
Dallas trucking firm is acquired by Houston environmental services company
Jack Herod Trucking has been acquired by Stella Environmental Holdings, a Houston-based portfolio company of Hidden Harbor Capital Partners, according to Waste Dive.
Jack Herod is based in Barry, Texas, about 60 miles south of Dallas in Navarro County. This acquisition is aimed at increasing Stella’s presence in Dallas-Fort Worth.
No financial terms were released, but Jack Herod, the owner of his namesake trucking firm, will remain with the company to assist with “business development,” Waste Dive reports.
Heath Eddleblute, Stella’s CEO, told the publication that Jack Herod is a “sizable player in the Dallas metro area” that was bigger than Stella in DFW.
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R E A D N E X T
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⟫ GOT LOTS OF MILK? Frisco-based Dairy.com, the leading provider of tech, services, and intelligence platforms to the dairy industry, has acquired New Delhi, India-based Mr.Milkman, an SaaS platform that manages milk distribution subscriptions and deliveries. Financial terms were not disclosed. Dairy.com services 80 percent of the Dairy Foods' Top 100 dairy companies, with over 100 billion pounds of milk moving through its systems. The Mr.Milkman acquisition is its first investment in India, which is the world's largest producer and consumer of milk and dairy products. The two companies will use their combined agribusiness tech and development resources to innovate last-mile dairy supply…
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Fast-growing Texas-based Cart.com acquired FB Flurry, which uses advanced tech to support "high-SKU" clients. Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Jeff Zisk, Flurry was named a Top 3PL this year by Multichannel Merchant.
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Many talented developers live in high-poverty areas of the U.S., where opportunities are scarce. Fair Shot founder Rick Cantu wants businesses to give them a shot—instead of offshoring for talent in other countries.
