MINNIE’S FOOD PANTRY NETS $1.3M IN VENTURE ROUND

Minnie’s Food Pantry of Plano, a charity that provides healthy, nutrititous food to those in need, raised $1.3 million in a venture round.

The lead investor in the round was not named.

Minnie’s was founded in April 2008 by Dr. Cheryl Jackson in honor of her mother, the late Minnie Hawthorne-Ewing. Its mission is to provide the needy with healthy meals and resources by way of “red carpet” treatment.

The food pantry has distributed more than 6.7 million meals to families that are experiencing food insecurity — where they have no reliable source of nutritious food.

Find out more about the food pantry here.

TEXZON TECHNOLOGIES RAISES $720K OF $15M OFFERING

Waxahachie-based Texzon Technologies LLC announced this month that it has raised $720,000 of a $15 million offering, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In January, the company announced that it finished a VC funding round in December, raising $641,562. The company develops wireless power systems for electromagnetic wave propagation, power storage, and electricity distribution.

Texzon has raised more than $26 million in venture funding in four rounds since 2016, including a $12.52 million round in November 2017.

WOODMONT ALLEN ACADEMY RAISES $1.3M IN EQUITY ROUND

Woodmont Allen Academy LLC has raised $1.3 million in an equity raise from 40 investors, according to a SEC filing.

According to the filing, the minimum investment amount was $25,000. Woodmont Allen Academy’s registered agent is The Woodmont Co., and the LLC was registered in January.

IOOGO RAISES $250K IN SEED INVESTMENT ROUND

IOOGO, a software-as-a-service techology company based in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas, raised $250,000 in a seed investment round.

Founded by Josh Alballero and Kristy Campbell in July 2017, IOOGO said its main premise is to establish a substantial customer base via unique technology and low-cost services.

IOOGO’s platform enables customers and vendors to interact in a different and effective way, the company said.

INSURANCE TECHNOLOGIES CORP. GETS MAJORITY INVESTMENT

Insurance Technologies Corporation, a Carrollton-based provider of marketing, rating, and management software and services to the insurance industry, received a majority investment of an undisclosed amount from Accel-KKR, a California technology-focused private equity firm.

FinSMEs reported that following the deal, Laird Rixford, formerly ITC’s president, will serve as its CEO, while founder Scott Upfield will remain with the business.

ITC said it will use the deal’s resources and capital to accelerate product innovation and to expand its position within the insurance industry. The company helps independent agents and insurance carriers in growing their businesses and becoming more efficient.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

FORT WORTH GAME STUDIO ACQUIRED BY LAS VEGAS FIRM

Fort Worth-based Ignis Studios LLC has been acquired by Momentous Entertainment Group Inc. for $21.5 million.

The deal is made up of cash, performance payments, and stock, the companies announced.

In a release, the companies said that over the past several years, Ignis Studios has put together a portfolio of some of the best game development professionals in the world and has created games for some of the most notable game companies in the world including Sony, LucasFilm, Tencent, Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, and others.

Ignis’ business plan calls for the creation of 10 new games annually. And its 2018 revenue is projected to be roughtly $8 million.

PDI ACQUIRES DALLAS-BASED MARKETING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER EXCENTUS

Dallas-based Excentus, a provider of loyalty and coalition marketing solutions for the U.S. retail, national brands, grocery, and convenience retail sectors, has been acquired by PDI.

No financial details of the deal were released.

PDI is a global provider of enterprise software solutions to the convenience retail, wholesale petroleum, and logistics industry. PDI said the acquisition will add more than 600 new customers to its client base, and will allow it to deliver comprehensive, enterprise software technology and data solutions.

DALLAS-BASED ALLEGRO ACQUIRES CALIFORNIA RISK ANAYTICS SOFTWARE MAKER

Allegro Development Corp., a Dallas-based global leader in commodity trading and risk management solutions, has acquired California-based Financial Engineering Associates Inc., a provider of risk analytics software for traders, risk managers, and quantative analysts in the energy and commodity industries.

According to the PE Hub Network, Allegro is backed by Vector Capital. No financial terms were disclosed.

Allegro has offices in Houston, Calgary, Dubai, Jakarta, London, Singapore, and Zurich, as well as a global network of partners. 

HAGGAR BUYS MENSWEAR MAKER KIZAN INTERNATIONAL

Dallas-based Haggar Clothing Co. has completed its acquisition of certain assets of Kizan International Inc., doing business as Louis Raphael.

Haggar manufactures the No.1-selling brand of dress pants, while Brisbane, California-based Kizan International is a leading men’s apparel company. No financial terms were released.

Among the assets acquired are Kizan’s intellectual property, inventory, and work in process.

“Louis Raphael has been an industry leader and innovator in the men’s pant category for over four decades, and we are honored to add the brand and its private label portfolio to our Haggar platform,” Haggar CEO Michael Stitt said in a release. “The acquisition is both synergistic and strategic, and aligns with our core competencies and strategic priorities of exceptional quality, innovation, and value.”

NEW INVESTMENT GROUP BUYS 2 NORTHEASTERN U.S. COMPANIES

Infrastructure Services Group, a new investment platform created by Dallas-based Juniper Capital Management and a group of partners and company management, has acquired Vermont-based Green Mountain Pipeline Services and Pennsylvania-based Mr. Rehab Sewer Systems.

ISG partners include ORIX Mezzanine & Private Equity of Dallas and North Carolina-based LionsWing Capital Partners LLC, and was created to conduct strategic acquisitions in the water infrastructure sector, according to a news release.

Both Green Mountain and Mr. Rehab are involved in the rehabilitation of municpal water systems in the northeastern U.S.

MORE NEWS

Dallas-based JF2 Capital Partners has invested an undiscloed amount in Remedy, an Austin-based on-demand urgent care medical service that delivers a doctor’s care to your home. Remedy’s total funding has reached $2.5 million, according to Crunchbase.

Dallas-based White Rock Capital was one of two investors who helped the British firm Diaceutics raise about $5 million. According to Crunchbase, Diaceutics is a global group of experts from the laboratory, diagnostic, and pharmaceutical industries whose goal is to assist pharmaceutical companies in integrating diagnostic testing into their treatment pathways.

Southlake-based Southlake Equity Groups invested $15 million in Titan Spine, a Wisconsin company that focuses on the design and manufacture of interbody fusion devices for the spine. The investment was a Series D round, Crunchbase said.

Blossom Street Ventures, a Dallas venture capital firm, was one of three investors involved in a $2.7 million Series A early state venture capital raise by Apptopia. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Apptopia provides services in app anaylitics, data mining, and businees intelligence for the mobile industry.

Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire investor, Mark Cuban is backing and advising Billshark, a service that enables customers and businesses to quickly and easily reduce monthly bills such as television, wireless, internet, satellite TV, and home security. Billshark works on behalf of customers to help them lower the cost of their monthly services, and only gets paid if it successfully saves customers money.

READ MORE

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