North Texas’ Tech Exits of 2018

Here are some of the notable deals from last year.

From entrepreneurs exiting startup ventures to major companies being bought and sold, the mergers and acquisitions activity in North Texas was bustling throughout the year. While the tech sector recorded many transactions, other sectors such as health care, marketing, and real estate also were active.

Here are some of the notable deals from last year.

For more transactions, including 18 exits and 154 funding deals happening in North Texas, visit our online guide.

Phazr

Farooq Khan founded Phazr in February 2016.

Farooq Khan founded Phazr in February 2016.

Phazr, the Allen-based 5G radio solutions developer, was acquired by JMA Wireless, a global innovator in mobile network edge solutions. According to JMA, PHAZR complements its XRAN all-software radio-access platform, and the deal created the first company in the United States with complete LTE and 5G technologies to address the full range of spectrum, from 600MHz to 47GHz.


Conversable

Conversable, an AI company with a conversational intelligence platform with offices in Dallas and Austin was acquired in October by LivePerson, a New York conversational commerce company. Conversable was co-founded by Dallas entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Andrew Busey of Austin.


Defakto

Defakto, an  Adobe solutions provider based in Dallas, was acquired by Ansira partners, one of the largest independent marketing agencies in North America. It is headquartered in both Dallas and St. Louis.


Invertex

Invertex became Dallas-based health care seed fund accelerator Health Wildcatters’ second exit in five years. Shoemaker Nike acquired the company. Tel Aviv, Israel-based Invertex uses computer vision to create 3D scans of feet. Terms of the acquisition were not released by the companies. Health Wildcatters has 51 startups in its portfolio that have cumulatively raised more than $50 million.


Ignis Studios

Ignis Studios, a Fort Worth-based game studio, was acquired by Momentous Entertainment Group for $21.5 million. The transaction was made up of cash, performance payments, and stock, the companies said. Ignis has created games for some of the most notable game companies in the world, including Sony, LucasFilm, Tencent, Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, and others.


LandlordStation and RadPad

Priority Technology Holdings acquired and capitalized LandlordStation and RadPad in an effort to lay the foundation for a real estate payments marketplace that is centered around tenants. Combined, LandlordStation and RadPad made up a privately held subsidiary of Priority Technology Holdings called Priority Real Estate Technology.


TickerTags

M Science, a leader in data-driven research and analytics that has a team in Dallas, acquired Dallas-based contextualized data mapping company TickerTags. TickerTags converts real-time conversation activity into data that is useful for investment. M Science describes itself as a data-driven research and analytics firm that uncovers new insights for leading financial institutions and corporations.


Mode Transportation

Non-asset third-party logistics company Mode Transportation of Dallas was bought by an affiliate of York Capital Management in a deal valued at roughly $238.5 million. Oak Park, Illinois-based Hub Group, which sold Mode Transportation, retained the company’s Temstar business.

A version of this story was first published in Dallas Innovates 2019—The Magazine. Sources included: Pitchbook, CB Insights, Crunchbase, and Dallas Innovates research.

R E A D   N E X T