Acquisitions in Illinois in 2021

Relation Insurance Services acquired the assets of Kamm Insurance Group, Inc., effective December 31, 2021; terms were not disclosed. The deal creates a new "Great Lakes region" business unit to expand Relation's presence in Chicagoland and the broader Great Lakes area, with Bill and Adam Kamm remaining in leadership roles.

Babylon (NYSE: BBLN) completed its acquisition of Higi SH Holdings Inc. on December 31, 2021, integrating Higi’s nationwide Smart Health Station network, at‑home devices and clinical connections into Babylon’s digital-first care platform. The deal expands Babylon’s remote monitoring and consumer health engagement capabilities to millions of U.S. consumers and strengthens its reach across payers, providers and retailers.

Becker Logistics LLC acquired Trek Freight Services, LLC effective December 31, 2021. The Lincolnwood, Illinois-based 3PL adds ~125 customers, 25,000+ carriers, 35 employees and Trek's proprietary TMS to Becker's operations as part of Becker's continued growth and capability expansion.

MCE (Motion & Control Enterprises) has acquired RSA, Inc. and Global Controls, Inc., a St. Charles, Illinois-based distributor of robotics, motion control, vision systems and a systems integrator serving industrial end-users and OEMs across the upper Midwest. The deal is MCE’s fourth acquisition and acts as an add-on to expand its motion control and automation product and systems-integration capabilities, supported by Frontenac, the Chicago-based private equity firm referenced in the announcement.

The Container Store (NYSE: TCS) acquired Chicago-based custom home storage and closet manufacturer Closet Works for $21.5 million, a deal that closed December 30, 2021. The acquisition expands The Container Store's wood-based manufacturing capabilities and premium product offering, giving the retailer in-house production, greater quality control and opportunities to increase margins and customization options.

Gryphon Investors' Heritage Fund acquired Vivify Specialty Ingredients, a Glendale Heights, Illinois–based supplier of specialty organic colorants, functional ingredients, and additives. The transaction was completed with participation from Vivify management and family owner Aakash Shah; financial terms were not disclosed and CenterOak Partners sold its stake.

The Public Finance Group of PMA Securities, LLC acquired the municipal advisory business of Crystal Financial Consultants, Inc. from principal owner Dr. Robert Grossi. Crystal — a top-10 Illinois school municipal advisor — will transition its MA clients to PMA while Dr. Grossi continues to provide non-MA consulting services under the new name Illuminate, Inc.

NV5 Global, Inc. acquired Global Realty Services Group LLC (GRS) in an all-cash transaction to expand NV5's real estate transaction services and bolster its market position in real estate due diligence. The acquisition adds GRS's property condition, environmental assessment, and zoning capabilities and approximately 154 full-time equivalent personnel, and is expected to be immediately accretive to NV5's earnings.

Glory Global Solutions, a global leader in cash automation, acquired Revolution Retail Systems LLC in December 2021. The acquisition brings Revolution's retail-focused cash management technology, nationwide field service and 24/7 monitoring capabilities into Glory's portfolio to expand its cash automation product and services offering for the retail market.

DAS Health Ventures, a Sheridan Capital Partners-backed healthcare IT platform, has acquired Itentive, LLC, a health IT consultancy and value‑added reseller that provides consulting, managed services and proprietary solutions to physician practices and hospitals. The add‑on expands DAS Health’s MSP footprint, deepens EHR/PM relationships and broadens its consulting and managed services capabilities across healthcare provider customers.

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) has acquired Greater Illinois Title Company (GITC), the largest title agency in Illinois headquartered in Chicago. The acquisition expands Stewart's scale and market share in Illinois and adjacent states, giving GITC access to Stewart's broader family of companies and services.

Innovative Companies, Inc., a portfolio company of Proviso Capital, has acquired Taylor Studios, Inc., an exhibit planning, design and fabrication firm based in Rantoul, Illinois. The deal, which closed December 15, 2021, is an add-on to Innovative Companies' platform as Proviso continues to build a global display, exhibit and sign manufacturing group; seller Betty Brennan will retain a continued role post-sale.

Chicago-headquartered SPM Group, backed by Corridor Capital, acquired health content agency GLC as an add-on to deepen its written and digital content capabilities for health, healthcare and wellness clients. The acquisition — GLC is SPM Group's third agency addition (and second in 2021) — expands the platform's integrated services offering and client access to additional content strategy and production expertise.

ProAmpac, a Cincinnati-based flexible packaging company owned by Pritzker Private Capital, has acquired Prairie State Group (PSG), an SQF-certified flexible packaging and labeling provider based in Franklin Park, Illinois. The deal expands ProAmpac's labeling, pouching and sustainable packaging capabilities and strengthens its presence in the food and pet food end markets; terms were not disclosed.

ConvergeOne, a services-led technology solutions provider, has acquired Prime TSR, a Chicago-based cloud modernization and data platform consultancy. The acquisition expands ConvergeOne's cloud modernization and data capabilities to better serve enterprise customers in healthcare, insurance and professional services.

Clearlake Capital-backed nThrive has completed the acquisition of TransUnion Healthcare, the healthcare data and analytics business of TransUnion. The deal combines TransUnion Healthcare's front-end data and insurance discovery capabilities with nThrive's end-to-end revenue cycle management (RCM) SaaS platform to create an integrated RCM offering for providers and payors.

Leonard Green & Partners and funds managed by Harvest Partners have purchased equity in Convergint Technologies from a fund managed by Ares Management and other existing shareholders. Ares remains a financial partner alongside LGP and Harvest as the transaction recapitalizes Convergint to support continued growth, geographic expansion, and add-on acquisitions.

AEA Investors has acquired Redwood Logistics from CI Capital Partners. Redwood, a Chicago-headquartered third-party logistics provider with a proprietary Logistics Platform as a Service (LPaaS) and more than 800 employees, will partner with AEA to fund additional add-on acquisitions and accelerate organic growth; financial terms were not disclosed.

Entegris agreed to acquire CMC Materials in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at an enterprise value of approximately $6.5 billion; at close the total purchase price (including debt retired and cash assumed) was approximately $5.7 billion. The acquisition brings CMC's CMP slurries, pads and related specialty materials into Entegris' portfolio to create a broader end-to-end electronic materials offering; CMC Materials has become a wholly owned subsidiary headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.

Charlesbank Capital Partners has acquired BOX Partners, a family-owned, technology-enabled wholesaler of packaging, shipping and industrial supplies headquartered in Elgin, Illinois. The deal—funded with equity and debt and marking the company's first outside equity—positions BOX to expand product categories, geographies and e-commerce capabilities; Neil Thomas will become CEO and the company's co-founder and president will step down.

Baxter International has completed its acquisition of Hillrom, paying $156.00 per share for a purchase price of $10.5 billion (approximately $12.5 billion enterprise value including assumed debt). The deal brings Hillrom's products and digital health capabilities into Baxter's portfolio to expand global reach, drive connectivity and analytics-enabled care, and pursue cost synergies and growth opportunities.

The Planet Group, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, has entered into an agreement to acquire Strive Consulting, a full-service technology consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. The acquisition expands Planet's technology consulting, advisory, and staffing capabilities by adding Strive's ~400 professionals and offices across several U.S. cities.

Copley Equity Partners has made a growth investment in Spend Matters, a Chicago-based tech-enabled data platform that provides procurement technology benchmarking and the TechMatch SaaS application. Spend Matters founder and CEO Jason Busch remains a substantial equity holder and will continue to lead the company; proceeds will be used to scale procurement offerings and expand into adjacent technology markets such as accounts payable, B2B payments, and supply chain analytics.

Cognizant has agreed to acquire Devbridge, a Chicago‑headquartered digital product and technology consultancy, to expand its software product engineering capabilities and global delivery footprint. The deal adds more than 600 engineers, designers and product managers across Lithuania, Poland, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada; Devbridge employees will join Cognizant Softvision. Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction was expected to close in late 2021.

Torch.AI acquired The DataTech Group, an Illinois-based data warehouse and analytics solutions provider, to strengthen its capabilities and expand support for U.S. Department of Defense and other federal clients. The acquisition brings DataTech’s expertise in data warehousing, decision support systems, and enterprise architecture into Torch.AI’s AI-powered Nexus platform to accelerate federal mission outcomes.

Graham Partners has become a majority investor in Woodland Foods, a Waukegan, Illinois-based supplier and manufacturer of specialty culinary ingredients and plant-based products. Woodland Foods' management will remain in place as Graham Partners plans to leverage its industry resources and operational experience to accelerate the company's growth across foodservice, retail, industrial and e-commerce channels.

REEF Technology Inc. has acquired 2ndKitchen, a virtual-kitchen and hospitality foodtech platform that enables hotels, offices and venues to offer food service without onsite kitchens. The deal will fold 2ndKitchen into REEF's Hospitality division to expand REEF's virtual-restaurant footprint and connect its portfolio of brands to more hospitality venues and customers; terms were not disclosed.

Leeds Equity Partners made a significant growth investment in 95 Percent Group, a provider of evidence-based literacy curriculum, assessments, and professional development for K–12 districts. The capital will support product and digital development while founders and existing management remain involved as the company scales its curriculum, intervention products, and implementation services across thousands of U.S. schools.

Cyrus Biotechnology completed an acquisition of Orthogonal Biologics and closed an $18 million Series B financing to build an integrated software-and-screening pre-clinical biologics discovery firm. The financing was led by a syndicate including OrbiMed Advisors, Trinity Ventures, Agent Capital and other investors, with Selecta Bioscience joining as a strategic investor; the acquisition brings Orthogonal’s deep mutational scanning protein engineering capabilities into Cyrus’s computational discovery platform.

Emerald Textiles, a portfolio company of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, acquired the West Coast assets of Angelica Corporation, including nine facilities that expand Emerald into Phoenix and Las Vegas and strengthen its Northern and Southern California footprint. The deal grows Emerald's network to 15 plants and 2 service depots (serving nearly 2,000 customer sites) and further establishes the company as the largest healthcare linen services provider in the Western United States.

MAI Capital Management, a Cleveland-based registered investment adviser, has acquired Hochman Cole Investment Advisors of Deerfield, Illinois. The deal, which closed Dec. 3, 2021, expands MAI's presence in the Chicago area and adds more than $495 million in assets under management; financial terms were not disclosed.

Iron Creek Partners led a recapitalization of Midwest Backgrounds, Inc. (MBI Worldwide) in a transaction that closed in September 2021, with participation from MBI's management team and Main Street Capital Corporation. The investment provides growth capital to support MBI's expansion of its employment background screening and consumer reporting services; financial terms were not disclosed.

Peterson Partners (referred to in some reports as Peterson Private Equity) has invested in WashU, a Chicago-area car wash operator headquartered in Plainfield, Illinois. The capital will fund WashU’s expansion into new markets and the development and acquisition of additional express car wash locations while the existing management team remains in place.

Blackstone-managed entities purchased Allstate Life Insurance Company and certain subsidiaries for $2.8 billion; the business has been renamed Everlake Life Insurance Company. Domain Capital Advisors served as lead lender in a multi-lender syndicate providing and servicing the debt for the transaction. The seller was The Allstate Corporation, which divested the life and annuity business.

Ascend Technologies has acquired the managed IT and security services division of Stratosphere Networks in a carve-out that expands Ascend’s presence and managed services capability in the Chicago area. Stratosphere will retain its IT project, voice services and consulting businesses while Ascend — backed by private equity partner M/C Partners — onboards the transferred managed services staff and clients.

American Safety Council (a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners) has acquired TPC Training from Frontenac. The combination brings together ASC's content and direct-to-professional marketing with TPC's EHS software, LMS and industrial safety training capabilities to form a broader safety training and compliance platform; terms were not disclosed.

Funds advised by Further Global Capital Management have made a growth investment in E78 Partners, a Chicago-based provider of finance, accounting and technology solutions to the private capital industry. The investment will provide capital to accelerate E78's growth, expand its service offering and geographic footprint and support its M&A strategy; E78 management and employees will retain meaningful equity stakes.

CI Private Wealth, a division of CI Financial Corp., has acquired Matrix Capital Advisors, a Chicago-based registered investment advisor that manages approximately US$615 million in assets. The deal expands CI's U.S. wealth management footprint and adds high-net-worth client relationships and experienced advisory personnel to its CI Private Wealth platform; financial terms were not disclosed.

Worthington Industries has acquired Tempel Steel Company for approximately $255 million, adding Tempel's headquarters in Chicago and five manufacturing facilities in Canada, China, India and Mexico. The acquisition, funded primarily with existing cash, brings about 1,500 employees and expands Worthington's capabilities in electrical steel laminations for transformers, motors and EV applications.

Stax, the Orlando-based all-in-one payments technology provider, has acquired CardX, a Chicago-based automated credit-card surcharging platform. The acquisition integrates CardX's compliance and dynamic-fee capabilities into Stax's payments stack, expands Stax's footprint with a new Chicago office, and brings CardX's ~2,600 merchant customers onto the Stax network.

Creative Planning Inc., an independent Registered Investment Adviser based in Overland Park, Kansas, acquired Dashboard Wealth Advisors, a Chicago-area RIA founded by Scott Schuster in 2013 that managed more than $800 million in assets. The deal brings Dashboard’s clients and advisory team into Creative Planning’s platform and expands the firm’s presence in the Illinois / greater Chicago market.

Surge Private Equity-backed Access Dental Management LLC acquired Optim Dental and Vogue Dental, a six-location dentistry group in Illinois and Indiana, in an add-on transaction valued at approximately $10 million. The deal was financed with a structured investment from Corbel Capital Partners (in partnership with Dr. Tien Phan and Surge) and marks Access Dental's first expansion outside Texas into the Illinois/Indiana markets.

An affiliate of private equity firm The Jordan Company completed the acquisition of Echo Global Logistics, Inc. for $48.25 per share in cash, taking the Chicago-based logistics provider private and suspending its Nasdaq trading. The Jordan Company said it will partner with Echo’s management to invest in the company’s technology and accelerate its long-term growth strategy.

Ayr Wellness Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Gentle Ventures, LLC (d/b/a Dispensary 33), which operates two licensed retail cannabis dispensaries in Chicago’s Andersonville and West Loop neighborhoods. Consideration is expected to total $55 million upfront (including $12 million cash, $3 million seller notes and $40 million stock) with an earn-out tied to Adjusted EBITDA; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Adventure Ready Brands has acquired LuminAID, a maker of solar-powered lighting and charging solutions for outdoor and emergency use. The acquisition (closed Nov. 19, 2021) expands Adventure Ready Brands' portfolio of consumer outdoor and emergency-preparedness products and aims to scale LuminAID's humanitarian mission and global reach.

ENT Partners, a physician practice management company focused on ENT practices, has acquired Suburban Otolaryngology in Berwyn, Illinois. The deal expands ENT Partners' Chicagoland footprint and strengthens relationships with regional health systems including Rush University Medical Center and Loyola Medicine.

Cinven has agreed to make a significant majority investment in Nitel, a Chicago-based provider of managed internet connectivity, SD-WAN and managed cybersecurity services for multi-site SMEs. Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal is an acquisition from the founders and Cinven intends to support Nitel’s organic growth and buy-and-build strategy to expand into adjacent services.

Oak Hill Capital and CPP Investments have entered into a definitive recapitalization agreement with Berlin Packaging, with the Berlin Packaging management team (led by CEO Bill Hayes) making a significant co-investment. The recapitalization will support Berlin Packaging’s next growth stage, including expanding digital and e‑commerce capabilities, sustainability initiatives, and continued accretive acquisitions and international expansion.

LaSalle Capital, with mezzanine support from NewSpring Mezzanine and investment participation from Everside Capital Partners, completed the acquisition of BOF Corporation, a manufacturer of gravity-flow refrigerated shelving headquartered in Aurora, Illinois. The transaction will partner LaSalle with BOF's existing management to accelerate growth, expand manufacturing capabilities, and deepen BOF's penetration into grocery, convenience and big-box retail channels.

Boston-based growth investor M33 Growth made a strategic growth investment in ARES PRISM, a provider of enterprise project controls and project cost-management software. The financing will accelerate product development and scaling while the company brought in Ryan Kubacki as CEO following founder Richard Stuart’s retirement.