Acquisitions in Iowa in 2022

The Ferrero Group agreed to acquire Wells Enterprises, the family-owned maker of Blue Bunny, Bomb Pop, Halo Top and other ice cream brands, as part of Ferrero's strategic expansion into the ice cream category and North American market. Wells Enterprises will remain a stand-alone business with its Le Mars leadership and manufacturing footprint intact; terms were not disclosed and the transaction was expected to close in early 2023.

Kamps, Inc., a national pallet company backed by Freeman Spogli & Co., has acquired Realm Companies LLC, a Newton, Iowa–based pallet manufacturing, recycling and warehousing platform that also includes WestWind Logistics LLC. Realm — a portfolio company of Great Range Capital — has about 180 employees across nine warehouse and manufacturing locations; all Realm and WestWind employees (including owner Chris Barton) will transition to Kamps following the deal. The acquisition expands Kamps' Midwest capabilities, adding pallet lifecycle management, reverse logistics and on-site TPM services.

Deveron Corp. (TSXV: FARM) has acquired all assets of Frontier Labs Inc., a soil laboratory and agronomy services provider serving Iowa and Minnesota. The asset purchase included an initial US$825,000 cash payment, milestone cash/share payments and issued common shares as part of consideration, expanding Deveron’s lab and agronomy capabilities in the U.S. Midwest.

Iowa American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, acquired the City of Blue Grass wastewater system for $2.0 million following Iowa Utilities Board approval. The acquisition adds about 750 wastewater customers to Iowa American Water's Quad Cities service area and the company plans approximately $4 million in capital investments to upgrade the system.

Savant Wealth Management acquired Iowa-based World Trend Financial (an RIA with $730 million AUM) and accounting/tax firm Terry Lockridge & Dunn, both based in Cedar Rapids with offices in Iowa City. The deals add 37 employees (including 13 new member-owners) and expand Savant's Midwest presence while strengthening its tax and consulting capabilities.

Modern Aviation has closed the acquisition of the fixed-base operator (FBO) assets and operations at Des Moines International Airport from Elliott Aviation, expanding Modern's national network to thirteen locations. The Des Moines FBO operates on a 17-acre leasehold with substantial hangar and office space; Elliott will retain and continue to operate its MRO business on the airfield. Modern Aviation is backed by Tiger Infrastructure Partners.

Citizens Financial Group has agreed to acquire College Raptor, an Iowa City–based online college planning platform, in a deal announced September 13, 2022. The acquisition (terms undisclosed) will expand Citizens’ advice and insight capabilities to help students and families plan for college and deepen the bank’s student-lending and digital engagement offerings.

Applied Data Corporation, rebranded as Upshop, has acquired Itasca Retail to expand its total store operations platform by adding inventory intelligence and replenishment capabilities. The deal, announced in September 2022 on Prairie Capital's site and Upshop/PR channels, integrates Itasca's Magic Inventory Intelligence into Upshop's cloud-based SaaS platform to improve on-shelf availability and streamline retail ordering.

BenefitMall has acquired Mutual Med, a Davenport, Iowa-based insurance distributor, to expand carrier relationships and voluntary benefits offerings and strengthen BenefitMall's presence across the Midwest. Mutual Med will operate as a division of BenefitMall under its existing leadership and broaden BenefitMall's service territory into several new Midwestern and Southern states.

PremiStar, a commercial and industrial HVAC, plumbing, and building automation services provider headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, has acquired Mechanical Service, Inc. (MSI), a commercial HVAC contractor based in Iowa City, Iowa. The acquisition expands PremiStar's service footprint in Iowa and broadens its capabilities to serve commercial, industrial, healthcare, education, municipal, and senior-living customers.

Calero-MDSL, a portfolio company of Riverside Partners and Oak Hill Capital, has acquired Network Control, a boutique Telecom Expense Management (TEM) and managed mobility provider headquartered in Waverly, Iowa. The deal brings Network Control's high-touch TEM team and operations into Calero-MDSL to accelerate growth in the mid-market; Mark Hearn, Network Control's owner and CEO, will join Calero-MDSL as Vice President and General Manager of the Network Control business unit.

TRM Equity II, a Michigan-based private equity firm, has acquired all equity of WDC Acquisition LLC, doing business as Wellman Dynamics, a Creston, Iowa-based aerospace foundry that manufactures large, complex magnesium and aluminum castings for defense and commercial aerospace customers. The transaction closed July 29, 2022; Wellman employs approximately 350 people and has operated in Creston since 1965.

OpenGov has acquired Cartegraph, a provider of operations and infrastructure asset management software for public agencies, from Pamlico Capital. The deal brings Cartegraph's asset and work management capabilities into OpenGov's government cloud to expand its product suite for local and state governments; OpenGov is backed by Cox Enterprises and Cartegraph was a Pamlico Capital portfolio company.

SPS Commerce (NASDAQ: SPSC) acquired GCommerce, a provider of EDI and supply‑chain software for the automotive aftermarket, for approximately $45 million in cash. The deal brings GCommerce customers and capabilities into SPS’s retail cloud network and is expected to contribute incremental revenue while strengthening SPS’s leadership in the automotive aftermarket.

Albert Lea Seed House, a family-owned seed supplier based in Albert Lea, Minnesota, has acquired Blue River Organic Seed, the long-established organic seed corn brand headquartered in Ames, Iowa, from Farmers Business Network. The acquisition expands Albert Lea Seed's organic product line, adds Blue River's climate-controlled warehouse and strengthens its ability to serve organic farmers across the U.S.

SETWorks, a disability service management software provider, acquired EDoc — the electronic documentation platform used by over 50 Iowa I/DD providers — from Imagine the Possibilities. The acquisition expands SETWorks' footprint in Iowa and positions it as the largest I/DD software provider in the state while giving EDoc customers the option to migrate to the SETWorks platform.

Midwest Growth Partners (MGP) has made a growth capital investment in Canoyer Garden Center to support Canoyer’s acquisition of Stewart's Greenhouse. The capital will enable Canoyer, led by Kyle Canoyer, to vertically integrate its operations and expand its greenhouse growing and retail footprint.

AgCertain Industries, a portfolio company of Midwest Growth Partners, has acquired Maytag Dairy Farms, the Newton, Iowa-based maker of Maytag Blue Cheese. Midwest Growth Partners — the previous owner of Maytag — facilitated and expanded its investment in AgCertain to complete the transaction, which aims to combine brands, expand product offerings and accelerate growth across distribution and direct-to-consumer channels.

G&A Partners, a Houston-based professional employer organization (PEO), has acquired Focus OneSource, an HR outsourcing provider in Des Moines, Iowa. The acquisition expands G&A Partners' footprint into Iowa and Nebraska while retaining Focus OneSource's leadership and staff to continue serving smaller businesses with HR, benefits and technology services.

CertaSite, a Riverside Company‑backed commercial fire protection and life safety platform based in Indianapolis, has acquired Heartland Fire & Security, a full‑service fire protection and security business headquartered in Davenport, Iowa. The founders/owners of Heartland (Matt Froeschle and Victor Obertance) remain with the business and all Heartland employees have joined CertaSite as part of the add‑on acquisition to expand CertaSite’s Midwest footprint and service capabilities.

Brown & Brown of Massachusetts, LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of Claim Technologies Incorporated (CTI). CTI — a Des Moines-based provider of proprietary software and benefit-plan audit services for governmental and private employers — will continue to operate from Des Moines and will be integrated into Brown & Brown's Retail segment to expand its employee benefits audit and consulting capabilities.

AssuredPartners, Inc., a national insurance broker based in Lake Mary, Florida, announced the acquisition of Midwest Group Benefits, Inc. of Decorah, Iowa. The Midwest Group Benefits team of 10 — led by Sara Hotvedt — will join AssuredPartners; the agency reports approximately $1.1 million in annualized revenues and the deal expands AssuredPartners' employee benefits presence in Iowa and the Great Plains region.

BARD Materials has acquired Horsfield Companies, a vertically integrated provider of ready-mix concrete, aggregates and concrete construction services across the Upper Midwest. TKO Miller advised Horsfield on the sale; the acquisition expands BARD's regional footprint and capabilities in ready-mix and aggregate supply across northeastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois.

BigHat Biosciences has acquired Frugi Biotechnology to integrate Frugi's cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) technology into BigHat's AI/ML-enabled drug discovery platform. The acquisition brings CFPS capabilities and Frugi's team in-house to help BigHat scale its antibody synthesis and discovery workflows; terms were not disclosed.

Integrity Marketing Group, a Dallas-based distributor of life and health insurance and insurtech provider, has acquired Western Marketing Associates Corporation, an independent marketing organization (IMO) headquartered in Missouri Valley, Iowa. The deal will connect Western Marketing's network of more than 18,000 agents to Integrity's proprietary insurtech platform and shared services to accelerate growth and expand product and technology capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Chevron Corporation agreed to acquire Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (REG) in an all-cash transaction valued at about $3.15 billion, bringing REG's renewable fuels production, feedstock capabilities and pre‑treatment facilities into Chevron's Downstream and Renewables operations. The deal accelerates Chevron's plan to grow renewable fuels capacity and expands its low‑carbon fuels offering; REG shareholders approved the transaction and REG's leadership (CJ Warner) joined Chevron's board following closing.

Camping World Holdings, Inc. has agreed to acquire Bowling RVs, an Ottumwa, Iowa-based RV dealership. The location will convert to the Camping World brand at closing, marking the company's fourth location in Iowa and expanding its presence in southeastern Iowa.

Funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle have acquired Involta, a Cedar Rapids-based hybrid IT, cloud and data center services provider, from private equity firm M/C Partners. The acquisition (which closed in early 2022) gives Carlyle control of Involta's 12 data center facilities and 12,000+ fiber-mile network and is intended to accelerate geographic and capability expansion across hybrid cloud, edge and fiber services.

Monterey Bay Herb Co, a Frontenac-backed botanical processor and distributor based in Watsonville, California, has acquired AmeriHerb, an Ames, Iowa–based distributor of botanicals, herbs, and spices that sells primarily through AmeriHerb.com and Herbalcom.com. The deal is an add-on to the Monterey Bay platform intended to expand product assortment and e‑commerce reach across nutraceutical, food & beverage, pet, and health & beauty end markets.

Element Materials Technology has acquired JMI Laboratories, a North Liberty, Iowa-based microbiology and molecular testing provider known for its SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program. The acquisition is an add-on to Element's life sciences buildout, expanding its pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical testing capabilities across North America and Europe.

Integrity Marketing Group, the Dallas-based insurtech and leading independent distributor of life and health insurance products, has acquired Brokers Clearing House Ltd. (BHC), a West Des Moines-based insurance brokerage and marketing organization. Lutz M&A served as exclusive financial advisor to BHC on the transaction, which strengthens Integrity's distribution and broker services capabilities.

Benson Hill, Inc. acquired ZFS Creston, LLC, a food‑grade soy white flake and soy flour manufacturing operation in Creston, Iowa, for approximately $102 million, primarily financed by a $100 million committed debt facility led by Avenue Capital Group. The acquisition gives Benson Hill immediate processing capacity to commercialize its high‑protein soybean varieties and expand its portfolio of non‑GMO, traceable soy protein ingredients for human and pet food markets.

Life Care Services (LCS) completed a planned recapitalization that brings Redwood Capital Investments in as a new capital partner while renewing ownership commitments from McCarthy Capital and LCS employee shareholders. The undisclosed transaction provides evergreen capital to support LCS's long-term strategic plan to grow real estate ownership, strengthen infrastructure and third-party management capabilities, and invest in its workforce and growth initiatives.