Cloud & SaaS Acquisitions in 2015

Frisco, Texas-based Chronos Solutions has agreed to acquire Cogent Road, a San Diego-based mortgage technology company, to expand Chronos' origination product suite and add over 300 customers and mortgage technology talent. Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal will allow Chronos to integrate Cogent Road's Funding Suite, Tax Door and Roohmz LOS into its end-to-end origination services and establish a mortgage technology lab in San Diego.

Descartes Systems Group acquired Oz Development, Inc., a U.S.-based provider of application integration solutions for SMBs, to strengthen its e‑commerce fulfilment and supply chain automation capabilities. The deal (approximately US$29.5 million in cash) brings Oz's domain expertise and customer base into Descartes' Global Logistics Network and extends its reach into the SMB e‑commerce market.

Cvent, Inc. (NYSE: CVT), a leading cloud-based event management platform, acquired Alliance Tech, an Austin-based event technology solutions provider, in a transaction that closed on November 2, 2015. Carter Morse & Mathias served as Alliance Tech's exclusive financial advisor; the acquisition expands Cvent's event technology capabilities in check-in/badging, attendance tracking, lead retrieval and event analytics.

IBM announced on November 3, 2015 that it has acquired Austin-based cloud software developer Gravitant. Gravitant’s cloud brokerage and hybrid-cloud management technology will be integrated into IBM Global Technology Services and offered as a SaaS capability to strengthen IBM’s hybrid cloud and cloud-brokerage offerings.

Quality Systems, Inc. (NextGen Healthcare) agreed to acquire HealthFusion Holdings, Inc. for $165 million plus up to $25 million in contingent consideration to accelerate cloud-based development and expand its ambulatory services offerings. HealthFusion, a San Diego-based developer of the MediTouch cloud EHR and practice management platform, serves over 3,000 practices (6,000+ subscribers), had an annualized revenue pace above $30 million and employed about 140 people.

Altium Limited has completed the acquisition of Swiss cloud-based component management provider Ciiva and announced a signed agreement to acquire Octopart, a New York‑based electronic parts search and data provider. The moves expand Altium's content and supply‑chain intelligence capabilities, enabling tighter integration of parts data, BOM management and CAD tools for electronic designers and manufacturers.

Watchfire Signs, a Danville, Illinois-based LED sign and digital billboard manufacturer, acquired Aerva, a Cambridge, Massachusetts cloud-based display network management company, to broaden its digital engagement and cloud capabilities. Aerva will continue to operate independently from its Cambridge headquarters; terms were not disclosed.

Cisco announced its intent to acquire Tropo, a privately held cloud API platform that enables developers to embed real-time voice and messaging into applications. The Tropo team will join Cisco's Collaboration Technology Group to extend Cisco's cloud collaboration capabilities and reach the developer community; financial terms were not disclosed.

SolarWinds has acquired Papertrail, a cloud-based log management service, for $41 million in cash. The acquisition expands SolarWinds' cloud monitoring and log-management capabilities, bringing Papertrail's SaaS log-aggregation technology and customers (including Adobe and GitHub) into SolarWinds' portfolio.

Amber Road (NYSE: AMBR) acquired ecVision, a Hong Kong–headquartered cloud-based global sourcing and collaborative supply‑chain platform, for approximately $24 million plus up to $9 million in earn-outs. The deal adds supplier collaboration, vendor/production management, product testing and compliance, and in‑factory shipment capabilities to Amber Road’s global trade management SaaS suite and expands its presence in the Asia‑Pacific market.

HealthStream (NASDAQ: HSTM) agreed to acquire San Diego-based HealthLine Systems, Inc. for approximately $88 million in cash. The deal expands HealthStream’s healthcare-focused SaaS offerings by adding HealthLine’s credentialing, privileging, and provider enrollment solutions (including the Echo product) and will be combined with HealthStream’s SyMed business to form an expanded credentialing and provider data management business.

Marlin Equity Partners has acquired Asentinel, a Memphis-based provider of Telecom Expense Management (TEM) SaaS software and services. Marlin intends to support Asentinel's growth and expand its TEM offering and market reach.