Acquisitions in California in 2017

FFL Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, has completed its acquisition of Autism Learning Partners (ALP), a Southern California provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for children and young adults with autism. Terms were not disclosed; FFL said it will work with ALP management to expand the company’s multi-state platform and grow its clinical services.

Professional services firm Alsbridge has acquired network optimisation and IT transformation consultancy Telwares from One Equity Partners. The acquisition adds roughly 60 consultants and expands Alsbridge’s data-driven benchmarking and network procurement capabilities, bringing the firm to about 385,000 networking procurement datapoints.

TriCo Bancshares (Tri Counties Bank) acquired FNB Bancorp (First National Bank of Northern California) in a stock transaction valued at approximately $315.3 million (about $40.81 per share). The deal expands TriCo’s presence into the San Francisco Peninsula and broader Bay Area markets.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of Desert Empire Insurance Services, Inc., a Palm Desert, California-based independent multi-line insurance brokerage. DEI principals Matt Costello, Paul Lewis and Sal Sandoval will join Hub California; terms were not disclosed and the deal expands Hub’s local footprint and specialty product expertise in the Coachella Valley.

Appen Limited has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Leapforce Inc., a Pleasanton, California–based provider of search relevance and human-evaluated data services. The deal combines Leapforce's proprietary evaluation platform and crowd resources with Appen's large global workforce to expand Appen's AI and machine-learning data annotation capabilities worldwide.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. agreed to acquire Outward, Inc., a San Jose–based 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings industry, for $112 million in cash. The deal will make Outward a wholly-owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma to extend the retailer's customer service and product-visualization capabilities while maintaining Outward's San Jose operations and leadership team.

Apple has acquired InVisage Technologies, a startup that developed QuantumFilm imaging sensor technology and related nanomaterials to improve camera performance in space-constrained devices. The deal brings InVisage's imaging capabilities and team into Apple to support camera, authentication (FaceID), AR/VR and other imaging-focused initiatives.

Affiliates of private equity firm ZMC acquired a controlling stake in IT Renew, a Silicon Valley–headquartered data center decommissioning and IT lifecycle management provider. The investment is intended to support IT Renew’s continued innovation in data security and data center lifecycle management, with Aidin Aghamiri named CEO and founder Mostafa Aghamiri remaining as Chairman.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquired Crystal Bioscience for $25 million in cash plus up to $10.5 million in milestones and revenue sharing, adding Crystal's chicken-derived HuMab (OmniChicken) antibody discovery platform and an in-house discovery lab. The acquisition (closing announced Oct 4, 2017) brings four fully-funded partnership programs, is expected to be accretive to revenue and earnings, and expands Ligand's OmniAb platform capabilities.

PatientSafe Solutions, a San Diego–based provider of the PatientTouch mobile clinical workflow and communication platform, closed a $25 million financing led by HighBar Partners. The round included participation from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Camden Partners, Psilos Group, and TPG and will be used to scale operations, accelerate sales and customer success, and further develop clinical communications capabilities.

Watertown, Conn.-based ShelterLogic Corporation acquired the Outdoor Products Division of Transom Bravo Holdings Corp. (Bravo Sports), a divestiture by Bravo Sports to focus its Action Sports business. The Outdoor Division, maker of shade canopies, outdoor chairs and related accessories under brands such as QuikShade and Shade Tech, will complement ShelterLogic’s existing shelter and canopy product lines.

Weaver Leather, LLC has acquired Troxel, a longtime maker of ASTM/SEI certified equestrian helmets. Objective Capital Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Troxel; financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase expands Weaver Leather's equestrian product offering by adding a leading helmet brand.

Zyme, a channel data management cloud platform provider, acquired CCI, a partner marketing and channel incentive management firm, to expand its smart application portfolio and offer a more comprehensive channel incentives solution. The acquisition combines Zyme's downstream channel data capabilities with CCI's expertise in MDF/co-op and partner marketing to create a broader, data-driven incentives offering for enterprise technology customers.

Sapporo Holdings Limited will acquire all equity interest in Anchor Brewing Company from parent Anchor Brewers & Distillers, LLC for $85 million, in a deal expected to close on August 31, 2017. Sapporo said the acquisition supports its "SPEED 150" plan to expand its North American beer business and will keep brewing operations in San Francisco while leveraging Sapporo's global distribution to grow Anchor internationally.

Elsevier acquired bepress, a Berkeley, California–based provider of hosted institutional repositories and research showcasing tools, to integrate bepress’s Digital Commons platform and analytics into Elsevier’s research products. The bepress team will remain in Berkeley and the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

ESW Capital, through its affiliate Ignite Technologies, completed the acquisition of FirstRain, Inc., a Silicon Valley–based provider of sales and marketing intelligence and enterprise business-intelligence SaaS. FirstRain will be managed by Ignite and made available to Ignite customers via the Ignite Prime program to extend Ignite's analytics and customer-intelligence capabilities.

JMI Equity has made a strategic growth investment in Arena Solutions, the provider of cloud-based product lifecycle management (PLM) and quality management software. JMI partners Brian Hersman and Suken Vakil will join Arena's board to support the company's next phase of product and market expansion.

Newtex Industries has completed its acquisition of Thermostatic Industries, Inc., a California-based distributor of high-temperature fabrics and fabricated insulation. The deal adds West Coast distribution for Newtex, expands its advanced high-temperature fabrics portfolio (including distribution rights to 3M Nextel ceramic fabrics), and relocates Thermostatic operations to a modern facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

OpenText agreed to acquire Guidance Software, the maker of EnCase, in a cash tender offer valued at $7.10 per share (approximately $240 million equity value; ~$222 million enterprise value). The purchase expands OpenText's Discovery and information security capabilities by adding Guidance's digital investigation, forensic security and endpoint solutions; the deal was expected to close in Q3 2017.

Plantation Products, LLC (based in Norton, Massachusetts) has acquired SUPERthrive, a long-running plant vitamin solution brand headquartered in North Hollywood, California, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition expands Plantation Products’ portfolio of gardening and seed-related consumer brands and aims to increase SUPERthrive’s retail distribution and reach among home gardeners and professional growers.

San Francisco-based private equity firm Alpine Investors has acquired Escape Technology, a Roseville, California provider of ERP software for K-12 school business departments. Dinan Capital Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to Escape Technology and its shareholders in the transaction.

ESW Capital, through its affiliate Wave Systems, completed an all-cash tender offer to acquire Jive Software for $5.25 per share, valuing the transaction at approximately $462 million. Jive becomes part of the Aurea family of companies to expand Aurea's customer- and employee-engagement software capabilities.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of The Ponce de Leon Insurance Group, Inc. d/b/a Colton Insurance Associates, a personal-lines insurance agency based in Elk Grove, California. The Colton team will join Hub’s Sacramento operations as part of Hub’s strategy to expand its geographic footprint and personal-lines capabilities; terms were not disclosed.

Castanea Partners completed a recapitalization of The Bruery LLC, a craft brewery based in Orange County, California, with terms not disclosed. Founder and CEO Patrick Rue will remain in his role and, along with his father Michael Rue, will remain significant shareholders; Farlie Turner Gilbert & Co. served as The Bruery's exclusive financial advisor.

SolarWinds has acquired Scout Server Monitoring and relaunched the product as SolarWinds Pingdom Server Monitor. The deal, which closed May 5, 2017, brings Scout's SaaS-based server monitoring technology and co-founder/CTO Andre Lewis into SolarWinds to expand its SaaS monitoring portfolio for DevOps and cloud-native teams.

VMware has acquired Apteligent (formerly Crittercism), a San Francisco–based mobile app performance and analytics company, to enhance its mobile and digital workspace capabilities. Terms were not disclosed; Apteligent had raised about $50 million since 2011 and will bolster VMware’s ability to provide app analytics alongside its AirWatch mobile management offerings.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of CIFS, Inc. d/b/a City Insurance Services and its affiliates Silver City Insurance Services Inc. and J&C Financial Planning, Inc. d/b/a MOA Financial Services. Terms were not disclosed; the acquisition expands Hub’s California footprint and its presence in the Korean-American community, and City’s president Brian Jeung will join Hub California.

Yoh, a Philadelphia-based talent and outsourcing company and subsidiary of Day & Zimmermann, acquired Embedded Resource Group, Inc. (ERG), a Silicon Valley engineering and IT recruiting firm. The acquisition, which closed March 31, 2017, expands Yoh’s IT staffing and engineering recruitment capabilities in the Bay Area; financial terms were not disclosed.

Five Points Capital completed a recapitalization of TransGo, a Los Angeles–area specialty manufacturer of automotive transmission valve body parts, with Cascadia Capital acting as exclusive financial advisor to TransGo. A significant portion of the proceeds were distributed to selected charities and existing employees to honor the philanthropic legacy of TransGo’s late founder, Dr. Gilbert W. Younger.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Novato, California-based Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, LLC. The boutique retail property/casualty broker — founded in 2004 and specializing in nonprofits, schools, affordable housing and private clients — will continue to operate from its current location under Gallagher's Southwest retail property/casualty brokerage leadership.

Digital West Networks acquired Norcast Telecom Networks to create the California Central Coast's largest business infrastructure provider, combining roughly 60 employees and more than 2,500 customers. The transaction was advised by Auctus Capital Partners and financed in part with mezzanine debt and a minority equity investment from Farragut Capital Partners.

Hadley Capital, a private investment firm, has acquired Pneumatic Conveying, Inc. (Pneu-Con), a California-based designer and manufacturer of turnkey pneumatic conveying and dry bulk material handling systems. The business was purchased from founder Wayland Gillespie in partnership with his son Warren Gillespie; Hadley and Warren plan to build on Pneu-Con’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities going forward.

Zenith American Solutions has acquired Pacific Federal, a California-based employee benefits administrator, to deepen its West Coast presence and expand its national third-party administration capabilities. PacFed serves more than 200 employers and 30,000 members in Southern California; PacFed's president Jim Garrison will continue to lead the business and report to Zenith's CEO. Financial terms were not disclosed.

E2open announced it has merged with Steelwedge, acquiring the cloud-based Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) / Integrated Business Planning (IBP) vendor to embed best-in-class planning into its supply chain operating network. The deal integrates Steelwedge’s cloud planning capabilities with E2open’s multi-enterprise network to provide real-time S&OP and execution across global trading partners.

Inuvo, Inc. acquired NetSeer, Inc., a provider of visual monetization and in-image advertising technology, under an Asset Purchase Agreement. Inuvo issued 3.53 million shares of INUV common stock and assumed specified liabilities, adding NetSeer's ad-technology, consumer interest data, direct publisher relationships and programmatic capabilities to its product suite.

Accenture has acquired InvestTech Systems Consulting, a Los Angeles-based specialist in investment technology systems integration and consulting, to expand its asset-management consulting and systems-integration capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed; 7 Mile Advisors served as InvestTech’s exclusive sell-side advisor.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) acquired Cloud Cruiser, a San Jose–based maker of cloud IT consumption metering and analytics software, to bolster HPE’s Flexible Capacity hybrid cloud pay-as-you-go offering. The deal adds Cloud Cruiser’s consumption analytics capability into HPE’s Technology Services portfolio and will integrate the company into HPE’s Data Center Care/ Flexible Capacity programs; terms were not disclosed.

Newport Beach private equity firm The Courtney Group has purchased family-owned flip-flop brand Flojos from founders Nellie and Sheng Yen Lin for an undisclosed sum. Footwear executive and stakeholder John Dickinson will become CEO as the firm intends to expand the men's division, reintroduce limited-edition styles and pursue U.S. and international growth.