What’s up Dallas! Bringing you the mid-quarter deal activity review and 2
nd
installment of
Dallas Deal Highlights,
covering activity in the tech and startup ecosystem in the Dallas area, from fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, to other major company announcements and news.
The most notable activity for the quarter thus far would fall in the M&A camp, where we saw a whopping 20 tech and life sciences transactions. These included
Alliance Data Systems,
who completed its massive $4B acquisition of Dallas-based
Epsilon Data Management
, and
Diodes,
who bolstered its push into Asia with the acquisition of Taiwan-based
Lite-On Semiconductor
for $428M.
Early stage deal flow trajectory for the quarter is off the mark we hit in Q2 ($148.5M) with $66M. This trend is on-par with a dip present in the rest of the US for early stage deals. The most notable financing in Dallas so far this quarter were in the healthcare realm, with the $27M for
Spectral MD
and $23.7M for
OncoNano Medicine.
The $135M raised by
Compass Datacenters
tops the charts for later stage activity, where the wholesale data center developer, will invest $3B in the development of new data center campuses across the U.S. over the near term.
I’ll be back in your inbox to catch you up at the end of the quarter. In the meantime, if I missed anything or have any feedback, happy to hear, I won’t take it personally 😊
Lastly, before letting you get to the meat of the newsletter, here at
LiveOak Venture Partners
we spend a bunch of time in Dallas, have made several investments in the area, and continue to be actively investing in early stage tech businesses in the Dallas (and Texas in general) region, so if you know of anything that you think may be of interest, please let me know.
Notable Financing Activity
- Compass Datacenters, a Dallas-based data center operator received $135M from Israeli real estate developer Azrieli Group (AZRG.TA) for a 20% stake in the company. The funding is part of a $3B expansion plan.
- Spectral MD, a Dallas-based company focused on AI-powered burn and wound assessment, secured $27M from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- OncoNano Medicine, a Fort Worth-based company developing an imaging agent to help surgeons better remove tumors, raised $23.7M in a second tranche of Series A. for a total size of the round of $35.4M led by Salem Partners. The company previously raised $11.7M last year and received $6M in grant funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
- Plano-based Systum, a wholesale inventory management software developer, raised $10.7M Series B led by Octopus Ventures. Systum has raised $18.2M to date.
- Curbio, a Maryland-based real estate technology company that recently partnered with Dallas-based Ebby Halliday Cos., has raised $7M in Series A funding. The funding round for Curbio, which specializes in pre-sale home renovation, was co-led by Camber Creek and Brick & Mortar
- Belluscura, whose U.S. operations are headquartered in Plano, raised $2.7M in its latest fundraising round, giving the London-based company a post-money value of roughly $9M. The company focuses on improving healthcare by developing new enriched oxygen treatment platforms. The latest round began earlier this year with a UK crowdfunding campaign on CrowdCube.
- Bilt, a Grapevine-based product assembly information application, raised $1.85M of venture funding from undisclosed investors.
- VitalTech, a Plano-based digital healthcare platform designed to support connected care through remote patient monitoring, received an undisclosed amount of development capital from Stanley Ventures and Concord Health Partners.
- Aspire Marketing Services, an Irving-based provider tech-enabled marketing services for automotive dealers and manufacturers, raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding in a deal led by Staley Capital.
Notable M&A Activity
- Epsilon Data Management, an Irving-based provider of data-driven marketing technologies and services, and subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS), was acquired by Publicis Group (PAR: PUB) for $4B. Epsilon was acquired by ADS for $300M in 2004.
- Diodes Incorporated (NAS: DIOD), a Plano-based semiconductor manufacturer, acquired Taiwan-based Lite-On Semiconductor in a cash-based share swap transaction valued at $428M. Diodes has a market cap of $1.92B.
- Rent-A-Center, Inc. announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Merchants Preferred, a nationwide provider of virtual rent-to-own services, in a deal that was reportedly valued at $47.5M.
- Modern Systems, a Dallas-based leader in application modernization, was acquired by Advanced Computer Software Group, the UK’s third largest software and services company, via its financial sponsor Vista Equity Partners, through a $29M LBO.
- Allen-based WatchGuard, a developer of in-car police dash cameras and body cameras, has been acquired by Motorola Solutions, for an undisclosed amount.
- Fort Worth-based ECi Software Solutions, which develops cloud-based business management software, acquired UK-based Spruce Computer Systems Limited, a reseller of its software. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced.
- Compass Datacenters, a Dallas-based data center operator, acquired ROOT Data Center, a Montreal-based wholesale data center provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Vertex Group, a Richardson-based developer for utility customer experience management software, was acquired by PE investor DFW Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- RealPage Inc., a Richardson-based real estate analytics software company, has acquired Waco-based SimpleBills Corp., a company founded by two Baylor University students. SimpleBills allows roommates to easily split bills. Financial terms were undisclosed.
- iControl ESI, an Addison-based eDiscovery technology solution provider, was acquired by Legility, via its financial sponsors Claritas Capital and Gridiron Capital, for an undisclosed amount.
- OpenConnect, a Dallas-based process-intelligence and workforce-analytics software provider, was acquired by ActiveOps, via its financial sponsor Calculus Capital, for an undisclosed amount.
- Dallas-based The Pursuant Group, a full-service platform of fundraising and technology businesses, has acquired Causemo, a fundraising intelligence and donor segmentation platform headquartered in Boston.
- ECi Software Solutions, the Fort Worth-based provider of cloud-based business management solutions, has agreed to buy Netherlands-based Trivest Beheer B.V., a provider of smart vertical software solutions for the SME manufacturing sector.
- Surgical Notes, a Dallas-based developer of revenue cycle solutions and electronic health record applications, was acquired by The CapStreet Group, for an undisclosed amount.
- CoorsTek Medical, a subsidiary of CoorsTek and Fort-Worth based manufacturer of medical devices intended to enhance the quality of life and standard of care for patients, was acquired by Unitedcoatings Group for an undisclosed amount. CoorsTek Medical was acquired by Coorstek, via its financial sponsor Golden Equity Investments through a $49.6M LBO in 2013.
- Intelledox, a global digital transformation software company, was acquired by Smart Communications, the leading cloud-based platform for enterprise customer communications, via its financial sponsor Accel-KKR, for an undisclosed amount.
- Robin Autopilot, a provider of an eco-friendly robotic lawn service, was acquired by Fahey Group for an undisclosed amount.
- Dairy.com, a Frisco-based software solutions provider for the entire dairy supply chain, has been acquired by private equity firm Banneker Partners. Deal terms were undisclosed.
- OGsys, a developer of cloud-based oil and gas accounting software, was acquired by Quorum Software, via its financial sponsor Thoma Bravo, for an undisclosed amount.
- SQData, a provider of data replication solutions, was acquired by Syncsort, via its financial sponsors Centerbridge Partners and Clearlake Capital Group, for an undisclosed amount.
Recent Dallas News
- Sabre Corp., the Southlake-based technology provider for the travel industry, announced it intends to close its acquisition of Farelogix on Aug. 21, and has informed the U.S. Department of Justice, which has been performing a lengthy review of the transaction. The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to sue to block Sabre Corp.’s (Nasdaq: SABR) proposed acquisition of Farelogix over concerns the deal will harm competition.
- Uber is establishing a U.S. General and Administrative Hub at The Epic in Deep Ellum, bringing with it at least 3,000 new jobs, more than $75 million in capital investment, and a place to house Uber’s various corporate functions.
- Dallas’ CyrusOne considers selling itself after interest from group that includes KKR
- RealPage puts up potentially over $100 million in acquisitions this year
- Study reports that DFW is #1 metro for attracting millennials
- DFW Companies on Inc. 5000 and Fortune 100 Lists
- Inc. magazine named Dallas as one of the top hottest startup cities in America
- Tech Titans names fastest growing tech companies in North Texas
- DI People: Linear Labs, Ryan, TTN Fleet Solutions Make Leadership Moves
- The Caris Life Sciences Corporate Park in Irving will increase R&D capabilities with a state-of-the-art precision medicine laboratory, create more than 500 jobs in the region, and help Caris continue to "reinvent cancer care."
- Experts discuss potential economic impact of Opportunity Zones in DFW and Texas
- North Texas Startups Honored at EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Southwest Awards
- Texas ranks as one of the most innovative states
- Hedera Hashgraph Gets IBM and Tata Communications For Its Governing Council
- Texas has become a testing ground for driverless semi-trucks further fueled by the new autonomous trucking route from Dallas to Houston operated by Kodiak Robotics. The CA-based company is focused long-haul trucking autonomous technologies and is opening an office in Dallas to better service this new route.
- Dallas Mavericks now accept bitcoin. What Is The Future Of Cryptocurrency And Blockchain Technology In The NBA?
- Rent the Runways Largest Fulfillment Center Yet Opens in Arlington
- The Largest Robotics Competition in the World is Returning to Dallas
- Ransomware Attackers Target 23 Texas Towns In One Day
Thank you!
Mason Rathe
|
|
If a missed a deal, major announcement, etc., shoot me an email and happy to include in the next one.
LiveOak Venture Partners is an early stage venture capital firm investing in Texas-based companies. Think you company might be a fit, shoot me an email at [email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|