Buyout Acquisitions in 2020

Clearlake Capital Group has completed the acquisition of PriSo Holding Corporation (PrimeSource) from Platinum Equity. PrimeSource is a global distributor of specialty building materials with 34 U.S. distribution centers and over 1,100 employees; Clearlake intends to use the business as a platform for organic growth and add-on acquisitions in the specialty distribution sector.

ECI Software Solutions signed a definitive agreement to acquire Glastonbury, Connecticut–based Shoptech Industrial Software Corp., a provider of ERP software for job shops and made-to-order manufacturers. Upon closing (expected in Q4 2020), Shoptech will join ECI's Manufacturing division; terms were not disclosed.

Central Garden & Pet has entered into an agreement to acquire Hopewell Nursery, a live goods grower headquartered in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The acquisition expands Central's live goods business and scale in the Northeast; Hopewell operates over 1,800 acres, employs approximately 500 people, and the deal is expected to close December 31, 2020 (terms undisclosed).

H.I.G. Capital, via an affiliate, completed the acquisition of Crothall Laundry Services from Compass Group plc. Crothall is a leading U.S. provider of outsourced laundry and linen management services serving healthcare and hospitality customers; H.I.G. said it will partner with management to support expansion and growth initiatives.

Arbor Contract Carpet has acquired Carpeturn.com, a web-based multifamily flooring provider with operations in the Southwest. The deal expands Arbor's geographic footprint into additional Southwestern markets and brings Carpeturn's web-based operating system and scheduling platform into Arbor's service offering.

Alera Group announced the acquisition of Granite Group Benefits, LLC effective December 31, 2020. Granite Group Benefits, a Manchester, New Hampshire-based employee benefits and risk management firm led by K. Brian McLaughlin, will join Alera’s national platform while continuing to serve clients from its existing team; terms were not disclosed.

Pye-Barker Fire & Safety has acquired Nardini Fire Equipment Company, a multi-generational fire protection contractor headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota (with a second HQ in Fargo, North Dakota). The acquisition, formalized on December 31, 2020, expands Pye-Barker's Midwest footprint into five additional states (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa) and preserves jobs by integrating Nardini's team into Pye-Barker's national platform.

Dentsply Sirona acquired Byte in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.04 billion. The deal adds Byte's direct-to-consumer, doctor-directed clear aligner platform and nationwide network of licensed dentists to Dentsply Sirona's SureSmile clear aligner business, increasing scale and R&D/supply-chain capabilities; Byte's CEO Neeraj Gunsagar and the existing management team will remain in place.

KFT Fire Trainer, a Montvale, New Jersey-based maker of computer-controlled live-fire training systems, was sold by Keystone Capital to an investor group led by KFT management. Greenwich Capital Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Keystone Capital on the transaction.

Century Golf Partners and an HKI (Hankuk Industry) partnership acquired the member-owned Las Posas Country Club in Camarillo, California, with the sale finalized on December 31, 2020 after an overwhelming member vote. Century Golf will operate the club under its Arnold Palmer Golf Management brand and the buyers plan capital improvements while providing members reciprocal access to Century Golf's Palmer Advantage network.

Gibraltar Industries (Nasdaq: ROCK) acquired TerraSmart, a provider of screw-based ground-mount solar racking, for $220.0 million (approximately $228.2 million including working capital adjustments) and acquired Sunfig, a solar project design and modeling software provider, for $3.75 million in cash. The deals expand Gibraltar's renewable energy platform and capabilities across ground-mount racking, tracker systems, and solar project design/financial modeling to grow its solar energy business.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) agreed to acquire Green Garden Products, a leading North American supplier of seed packets and seed-starting products, for $532 million. The deal (expected to close in Q1 2021) expands Central’s garden product portfolio and strengthens its retail footprint and digital/merchandising capabilities; Green Garden had previously been partnered with Freeman Spogli & Co.

Seawall Capital, a middle‑market private equity firm, acquired Kent Water Sports Holdings, LLC (Kent) for an undisclosed amount; the transaction closed on December 31, 2020. Seawall said it will partner with Kent’s management and the Archer family to provide capital and resources to accelerate organic growth and pursue future acquisitions across Kent’s portfolio of action‑sports brands.

AEA Investors' Small Business Fund (AEA SBF) formed Meritus Gas Partners by acquiring Willingham Welding Solutions (d/b/a Gas Innovations) and Atlas Welding Supply Co. The transaction recapitalizes the two independent industrial/medical gas and welding-supplies distributors to create a national platform of distributors serving industrial, medical and specialty gas end-markets across North America.

Mercer Global Advisors (Mercer Advisors), a national registered investment adviser headquartered in Denver, acquired Marrs Wealth Management, LLC, an Ames, Iowa-based wealth management firm with approximately $215 million AUM serving ~275 clients. The deal closed December 31, 2020, and four Marrs team members (including founders/LLC members Craig Marrs, Andra Reason, and Nathan Brammer) joined Mercer; the move was driven primarily by succession planning and to expand client services and back-office capabilities.

Ennis, Inc. announced that a wholly owned subsidiary has entered into a letter of intent to acquire the assets and assume certain liabilities of Infoseal LLC, a Roanoke, Virginia producer of pressure-seal and tax forms. The Infoseal business will continue to operate under the Infoseal brand at its current facility and Ennis expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in the current year.

Behrens Investment Group, a New York–based investment firm, acquired the assets of Gorham Paper & Tissue and White Mountain Tissue (the Gorham mill) at the end of 2020. The mill will operate as White Mountain Paper Company under new leadership and Behrens plans significant infrastructure and sustainability investments to modernize production and grow tissue and towel output for the North American market.

David Centner Enterprises, the family-office vehicle of serial entrepreneur David Centner, acquired Canadian reputation-management firm Guaranteed Removals (rebranded Erase.com); the deal closed December 31, 2020 and was announced in July 2021. Following the acquisition the company relocated its corporate headquarters to Miami, Florida and appointed Alexander Kurian as CEO to scale the business in enterprise-level negative content management.

MARQUE Luxury has acquired Closet Full of Cash, an online guide and resource for wholesale vintage shopping and luxury resale, gaining rights to the guide's published books. The acquisition expands MARQUE's content and educational offerings (including resources for its MARQUE Mentor membership) and brings Closet Full of Cash founder Deanna Thompson into MARQUE's operations.

EMERGE Commerce Ltd. (TSXV: ECOM) has acquired all outstanding shares of truLOCAL Inc., a Canadian direct-to-consumer meat subscription and marketplace, for up to CAD 16.8 million. The deal (effective December 31, 2020) included cash, EMERGE shares, deferred consideration and an earn-out, and brings a business with ~CAD 19.8M revenue (TTM) and operations in Kitchener, Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago into EMERGE's e-commerce portfolio.

Dura Software, a San Antonio-based acquirer of hyper-niche software businesses, has acquired Vertex Systems, a Columbus, Ohio company that provides software for organizations serving adults with disabilities. The purchase expands Dura's footprint into the human-services/healthcare software market; Vertex will move its corporate headquarters to San Antonio while retaining its Columbus workforce.

Mercer Global Advisors (Mercer Advisors), a Denver-based registered investment adviser, acquired McGee Wealth Management, a Portland, Oregon wealth management firm, effective December 31, 2020. The transaction brings roughly 15 McGee team members and approximately $815 million AUM (serving ~800 clients) into Mercer as part of a succession plan and to augment Mercer’s Portland presence.

Alera Group, a national insurance and financial services firm based in Deerfield, Illinois, acquired CSNW Benefits, a Portland-based employee benefits and retirement services firm, effective December 31, 2020. The acquisition strengthens Alera Group’s presence in the U.S. West/Northwest region and brings CSNW’s local benefits, HR compliance tools and retirement expertise into Alera’s national platform; terms were not disclosed.

TMS International has acquired the business and assets of Stein, LLC and Stein Steel Mill Services, LLC, a family-owned provider of steel mill services headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The acquisition (approximately 500 employees) expands TMS's service capabilities and U.S. footprint, adding slag removal, scrap management, recycling, material handling and mill maintenance capabilities across seven states.

RapidAPI has acquired Paw, a popular API design and collaboration tool, to extend its developer platform across the full API development lifecycle. The deal will integrate Paw's API design capabilities into RapidAPI's marketplace and enterprise tooling and expand Paw's platform from Mac-only to Windows, Linux, and web.

K2 Partnering Solutions has acquired The Crevalle Group, a Salesforce partner based in Atlanta, Georgia. The acquisition (completed December 31, 2020) expands K2's footprint and capabilities within the Salesforce ecosystem across North America by adding Crevalle's staff augmentation, managed services and staffing capabilities.

Mercer Global Advisors (Mercer Advisors) has acquired Rowland Carmichael Advisors, Inc. (RCA), a Scottsdale-based wealth management and family office firm. The deal (closed Dec 31, 2020) brings RCA’s nine-person team and its retirement-plan capability into Mercer’s existing Scottsdale office to expand Mercer’s Arizona presence and augment its ERISA/retirement plan business.

SSOE Group acquired Atlanta-based architecture and design firm Stevens & Wilkinson along with its sister interior design studio IDEA | SPAN, expanding SSOE’s Southeast U.S. presence and design capabilities. The deal, finalized December 31, 2020, adds nearly 100 employees to SSOE and broadens its offerings across healthcare, education, judicial, and other commercial building markets.

Edgewater Capital Partners completed an investment to acquire Naprotek, a San Jose-based electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company specializing in quick-turn printed circuit board assembly for high-reliability applications. Patriot Capital provided subordinated debt and an equity co-investment alongside Edgewater and Naprotek's management team to support the transaction and future growth.

Remsen Technologies LLC announced a definitive agreement to acquire Maid Sailors and its affiliates for $10,000,000, with the transaction expected to close in Q1 2021. Maid Sailors, headquartered in New York City, is a professional home and office cleaning service operating in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois and Florida; Remsen said it will leverage its ownership, technology and resources to scale and enhance Maid Sailors' service delivery.

Gryphon Investors completed a majority acquisition of Right Time Heating and Air Conditioning from Clairvest Group Inc., acquiring Canada’s largest independent residential HVAC services provider. Right Time — founded in 2014 and based in St. Catharines, Ontario with ~400 employees and 11 locations — will keep its management team in place with management retaining a significant equity stake as Gryphon supports continued organic growth and add-on M&A.

PointClickCare Technologies has completed the acquisition of Collective Medical, combining PointClickCare's cloud-based post-acute dataset with Collective Medical's real-time, cross-continuum care coordination network. The deal brings together complementary SaaS platforms to provide deeper, point-of-care patient insights across acute, ambulatory, post-acute and payer settings; terms were not disclosed.

One Equity Partners (OEP) completed the acquisition of Madrid-headquartered VASS Consultoría de Sistemas, a European provider of digital transformation, cloud infrastructure and managed IT solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed; VASS will continue to be led by founder Francisco Javier Latasa (who remains an investor) and will serve as OEP’s buy-and-build platform to accelerate capability expansion and geographic growth in Spain and Latin America.

McCormick & Company, Inc. agreed to acquire 100% of FONA International, LLC for $710 million in cash. FONA is a privately held manufacturer of clean and natural flavors headquartered in Illinois with approximately $114 million in annual sales and ~220 employees; McCormick said the deal expands its flavor solutions portfolio, technology capabilities and clean/natural offerings and is expected to be accretive to gross margin.

DNV GL acquired Energy & Resource Solutions, Inc. (ERS), a North Andover, Massachusetts–based energy engineering and consulting firm, with the transaction closing on December 30, 2020. The acquisition brings ERS’s program design, outreach, implementation and evaluation capabilities into DNV GL’s global energy advisory platform to accelerate the energy transition and expand services for utilities, government and large commercial/industrial customers.

onX, the outdoor GPS mapping and navigation company, has acquired Adventure Projects, Inc., the operator of community-driven outdoor guide sites and mobile apps (including Mountain Project, MTB Project, Hiking Project, Powder Project, and Trail Run Project). onX said it will continue to work with Adventure Projects' contributors and CEO Nick Wilder while integrating their guide content and communities into onX's mapping products to enhance outdoor discovery and access.

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire RLH Corporation (NYSE: RLH), a franchisor with more than 900 hotels. The deal will expand Sonesta's scale and franchising capabilities, creating a combined company with roughly 1,200 hotels across multiple brands; the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021 and will be funded with cash-on-hand and/or capital contributions from Sonesta's shareholders.

Sval Energi AS has agreed to acquire Edison Norge AS from Edison for an agreed price of USD 300 million (financially effective 1 January 2020). The acquisition adds ~25 mmboe (57% gas) to Sval’s reserve base and increases its interests in the Dvalin and Nova developments, strengthening its upstream position on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Skylark Private Equity Partners completed an investment in Claridge Products, a U.S.-based manufacturer of writing surfaces and related solutions for K-12 schools and commercial customers. The Claridge business — long-owned by the Clavey family — will be led operationally by Marcus McNew in partnership with Skylark to accelerate product and manufacturing growth.

Manna Pro Products, a St. Louis-based manufacturer and marketer of pet care and nutrition owned by investment vehicles managed by The Carlyle Group, has acquired Bullymake, a direct-to-consumer subscription box for heavy-chewing dogs. The acquisition expands Manna Pro’s direct-to-consumer and omnichannel presence, adding Bullymake’s roughly 1 million annual boxes and subscription capabilities to its portfolio.

Industrial Growth Partners V, L.P., in partnership with Hydromax USA management, acquired Hydromax USA, LLC from Warren Equity Partners. The private equity-controlled platform investment positions Hydromax to accelerate growth across its outsourced infrastructure services for gas, water and wastewater utilities through strategic and operational support from IGP.

AssuredPartners, Inc. has acquired Dawson, Taylor & Company, an Augusta, Georgia-based insurance agency. The 10-person team will remain led by Agency President Michael Taylor as AssuredPartners expands its presence in the Augusta market.

HealthEdge Software, a Blackstone-backed payor technology provider, has completed the acquisition of Altruista Health, a Reston-based care management and population health SaaS platform. The deal, sold by Martis Capital, integrates Altruista's GuidingCare platform with HealthEdge's HealthRules Payor to expand capabilities across claims adjudication, payment integrity and care management; terms were not disclosed.

Distributed Ledger, Inc. (DLI), a blockchain technology service provider based in Atlanta, acquired Crypto Mining Tools (CMT), a North American cryptocurrency mining hardware supplier and creator of online mining tools. CMT founder Scott Offord will join DLI as Director of Asset Management as DLI plans to rebrand CMT, relaunch its podcast, and scale services for CMT's customers.

Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight acquired an approximately 64% majority ownership interest in Univision Holdings, Inc., with Grupo Televisa retaining about 36% and converting warrants into common stock. Wade Davis (ForgeLight) becomes Univision CEO as the new owners plan to deepen engagement with U.S. Hispanic audiences, expand digital capabilities and accelerate content and advertising-product initiatives.

Bemis Manufacturing Company acquired Bio Bidet, a Crystal Lake, Illinois-based maker of bidet and smart toilet seats, effective December 29, 2020. The acquisition expands Bemis’s product portfolio and engineering capabilities in bidet and smart toilet-seat technology while leveraging Bemis’s distribution and market penetration to grow the bidet category.

De'Longhi Group agreed to acquire Capital Brands Holdings Inc., the Los Angeles-based owner of the Nutribullet and Magic Bullet personal blender brands, from affiliates of Centre Lane Partners for an enterprise value of approximately $421 million. Capital Brands forecasted roughly $290 million in 2020 net revenues; De'Longhi said the acquisition strengthens its presence in the U.S. and expands its food-preparation/blender portfolio and is expected to be accretive.

A company backed by the Permira funds has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Boats Group from funds advised by Apax Partners. Boats Group, a Miami-based online classifieds marketplace and technology provider for the recreational marine industry (brands include YachtWorld, Boat Trader and boats.com), will partner with Permira to expand internationally and develop new products and services; financial terms were not disclosed.

Cognizant acquired UK-based AI and machine learning consultancy Inawisdom to bolster its data, analytics and cloud-native AI capabilities. The deal brings Inawisdom's AWS-focused ML expertise and RAMP platform into Cognizant's Digital Business group; financial terms were not disclosed.

A fund advised by Norvestor Advisory AS has agreed to acquire a c.52% majority stake in Pearl Group, a Nordic IT solutions and ERP partner headquartered in Lysaker, Norway. The investment provides Pearl with expansion capital to grow organically and via M&A while the existing management and key employees retain a significant minority stake and reinvest proceeds.