Follow the Money: Eyevance Raises $30M, Sanara MedTech Gets $10M, Tyler Technologies Makes Acquisition

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.

Have a deal we should know about? Tell us here.

Eyevance Pharmaceuticals raises $30M in equity funding round

Fort Worth-based Eyevance Pharmaceuticals has raised $30 million in an equity funding round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The funding announcement comes after Eyevance said it had acquired TOBRADEX ST and NATACYN from the Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis. The acquisition was part of Eyevance’s growth strategy and shows its commitment to developing and commercializing innovative ophthalmic products, according to a statement.

“The acquisition of TOBRADEX ST and NATACYN further demonstrates Eyevance’s commitment and mission to serve the doctors that treat patients’ anterior segment and ocular surface conditions,” Jerry St. Peter, Eyevance’s co-founder, CEO, and director, said in a statement. “Today’s market conditions and broad payer coverage position both products for strong, sustained growth.”

TOBRADEX ST is a fixed-dose topical antibiotic and corticosteroid combination. Eyevance acquired the global rights to NATACYN, which is the first and only FDA-approved ocular antifungal and is listed on The World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of essential medicines, according to a statement.

Sanara MedTech closes on $10M equity offering

Fort Worth-based Sanara MedTech has closed a private equity offering worth $10 million in common stock that it plans to use to fund milestones payments under current and future product license agreement, Mass Device reported.

Mass Device said that the post-IPO offering included more than 1.2 million newly issued shares at $8.30 each. Sanara formerly was known as Wound Management Technologies.

Sanara, which markets and distributes wound and skincare products, said it also intends to put the funding toward repaying debts from its bank line of credit, as well as operating expenditures such as clinical studies and sales force expansion, Mass Device said.

Plano’s teleCalm reaps $100K award from MassChallenge Texas

Plano-based teleCalm, a provider of phone service for seniors and caregiver living with dementia, won a $100,000 Diamond Award from MassChallenge Texas as part of the 2019 accelerator program in Austin.

“teleCalm’s phone service solves telephone problems increasingly faced by caregivers and seniors with dementia,” teleCalm co-founder and CEO Tavis Schriefer said in a release. “Customers tell us that teleCalm provides life-changing benefits as challenges of dementia surface and progress.”

MassChallenge awards showcase top startups that are best positioned to grow and provide positive social impact, according to the release.

It was one of five equity-free award winners selected from 689 applicants, the release said.

The startup will leverage the prize money to advance its unique dementia-focused phone service that keeps seniors safely connected with family and friends, protects against elder fraud, and stops phone-related stress, the release said.

Crestline Investors closes European fund with $360M in commitments

Fort Worth-headquartered Crestline Investors, a credit-focused institutional alternative asset manager, announced the final closing of its first European Opportunity Fund, Crestline Opportunity Fund III Europe, according to a release.

Crestline secured more than $360 million in equity capital commitments, exceeding its fundraising objective, the release said. The firm said the new fund will be an extension of its global series of opportunistic funds and exclusively target European opportunities.

This the 10th in Crestline’s series of opportunistic funds, which started in 2005 and have attracted more than $7.7 billion in client commitments to date, the release said.

Powerhouse receives private equity investment

Powerhouse, a Crowley-based provider of national construction services, facility maintenance, and rollouts, has raised an undisclosed amount in a private equity investing round, according to Crunchbase.

The funding came from New York City-based Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Crunchbase said. Powerhouse, which has more than 350 full-time employees, was founded in 1995 with three employees and a portable retail sign company. In 2002, the company obtained a project to install 12-foot-tall inflatable movie character balloons on the rooftops of every Burger King restaurant in the nation—some 4,000 locations.

The company then expanded to offer construction services and facilities maintenance.

OTHER FUNDING

Lone Star Aerospace, an Addison-based provider of business analysis and advice for aerospace and defense contractors, has received an investment from San Diego, California-based HCAP Partners. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIIONS

Tyler Technologies acquires Canadian jury management system firm

Plano-based Tyler Technologies Inc., the largest and most established provider of integrated software and technology services focused on the public sector, has acquired Courthouse Technologies (CHT), a provider of jury management systems headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

CHT is the eighth company and second in Canada that Tyler has acquired in the past 18 months, the company said.

Tyler said in a release that CHT, founded in 2005, will complement and elevate the company’s software offerings for domestic and international court clients.

“The acquisition of Courthouse Technologies strengthens Tyler’s courts and justice portfolio to better serve our clients and their communities,” Tyler President and CEO Lynn Moore said in a release. “In our view, CHT is the strongest solution for jury management in the market, and we look forward to enabling courts to make their jury operations more efficient.”

Trend Micro acquires Australian company for $70M

IT Security company Trend Micro, whose U.S. headquarters is in Irving, has acquired Australia-based cloud security posture management firm Cloud Conformity in a deal valued at $70 million.

Trend Micro said the acquisition will help it address commonly overlooked security issues that are caused by cloud infrastructure misconfigurations.

“As more enterprises move to the cloud, our customers feel they’re operating amid a wild-west approach to cloud implementations that leave them with unmanaged risk,” Trend Micro CEO Eva Chen said in ZDNet. “As an AWS technology partner of the year for 2019, Cloud Conformity understands these implementations and the risks. Their offering perfectly complements our own portfolio.”

All Cloud Conformity staff will join Trend Micro as part of the deal.

Medecision acquires Philadelphia-based GSI Health

Medecision has acquired Philadelphia-based GSI Health, a SaaS provider of workflow, engagement, and compliance solutions and related services.

Dallas-based Medecision is an integrated health management solutions provider that supports the health and care of more than 50 million consumers nationwide.

According to a release, the GSI Health platform is used by some of the nation’s leading health systems to coordinate and optimize value-based care for more than 1 million beneficiaries, often operating under Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) programs.

GSI Health’s clients include the largest public hospital system in the country and the largest Medicaid health plan in Oregon, the release said.

Jacobs takes 50-percent share of U.K.-based company

Jacobs, the Dallas-based engineering and professional services company, has acquired a 50 percent stake in Simetrica, a U.K.-based organization that specializes in social value measurement and wellbeing analysis.

Under the deal, Simetrica will provide its cutting-edge expertise to increase existing capabilities and offerings in the areas of socio-economics, sustainability, and environmental services, according to a release. No financial details were released.

Jacobs and Simetrica are developing new best practices and solutions related to social value and wellbeing principles in response to increasing client demand driven by the Public Services (Social Value) Act in the U.K., the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Inclusive Growth Initiative and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the release said.

“In recent years, the importance of social value measurement has grown exponentially globally,” Donald Morrison, Jacobs Buildings and Infrastructure Europe, Middle East and Africa senior vice president said in the release. “Our partnership with Simetrica will enable us to help our clients understand how they can transform local, city and regional decision-making—identifying innovative, inclusive and ethical investments that will drive social change, spread prosperity and meet the growing challenges facing communities.”

California firm acquired Dallas-based RAA

Dallas-based RAA, a $2.8 billion registered investment adviser serving airline industry employees, has been bought by Sacramento, California-based Allworth Financial.

This is Allworth’s fifth acquisition of the year, according to Investment News. Allworth, former called Hanson McClain Advisors, will manage roughly $7.5 billion, once the deal is completed.

RAA will be maintained as a sub-brand, for now.