Acquisitions in Massachusetts in 2019

WHI Global, a portfolio company of RVE Partners, has acquired the assets of Aero-Bond Corporation through affiliated vehicle Aerobond Composites, LLC. The acquisition brings composite fabrication capabilities (layup, compression molding, adhesive bonding, vulcanization) and AS9100/ISO 9001-certified capacity in Springfield, Massachusetts into WHI's aerospace manufacturing platform as part of RVE's buy-and-build strategy.

Alera Group, a national employee benefits and insurance firm, acquired Sylvia Group, a Dartmouth, Massachusetts-based insurance and employee benefits agency, effective December 31, 2019. The deal brings Sylvia Group's property & casualty and employee benefits expertise into Alera's national platform to strengthen capabilities and service coverage in New England; terms were not disclosed.

OpenText completed the acquisition of Carbonite, Inc., a provider of cloud-based data protection, backup, disaster recovery and endpoint security, for approximately $1.45 billion in cash. Carbonite becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of OpenText as part of a strategic move to expand OpenText's cloud and endpoint data protection capabilities and extend EIM to SMBs and prosumers.

Diversis Capital Partners I LP, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, has acquired WorldAPP, the Braintree, Massachusetts provider of the Form.com mobile workflow platform and Key Survey enterprise survey software. Diversis will supply growth capital and operational support to extend WorldAPP's platform capabilities and accelerate market penetration across industries such as oil & gas, financial services, retail, and restaurants.

Audax Private Equity has recapitalized Corrona, LLC in partnership with Corrona's management team; terms were not disclosed. Great Point Partners exited its investment as Audax and management position Corrona to expand its real-world evidence registries, data capabilities and pursue further growth.

Affiliates of Francisco Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LogMeIn, Inc. for $86.05 per share in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at approximately $4.3 billion. The deal — approved by LogMeIn's board and expected to close in mid-2020 subject to approvals — will take the Boston-based SaaS company private to accelerate product investment and long-term growth.

McCarthy Capital has recapitalized Bigbelly (Big Belly Solar), providing cash to accelerate growth and support product development. The investment will help Bigbelly expand market penetration for its smart, solar-powered waste and recycling systems and develop new capabilities, including hosting wireless communications technologies such as 4G LTE and 5G.

FirstLight, a Northeast fiber-optic and telecom provider headquartered in Albany, New York, acquired Massachusetts-based ColoSpace, a regional colocation and managed IT services provider. The acquisition adds four data centers (nearly 20,000 square feet) and expands FirstLight's data center, cloud and managed services capabilities across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire; financial terms were not disclosed.

Clinical Innovations, a Salt Lake City-based neonatal and labor & delivery medical device company owned by EQT, has acquired the SweetUms sucrose solution and BoogieBaby single‑use suction product lines from Sandbox Medical, LLC. The acquisition expands Clinical Innovations' NICU product portfolio and leverages its direct sales channels to increase market penetration of the products in the U.S. and globally.

Duck Creek Technologies received a $120 million growth investment from Dragoneer Investment Group, funds advised by Neuberger Berman, Insight Partners, and Temasek. The capital will be used to fund product development, accelerate international expansion, and to repurchase equity from certain existing investors; J.P. Morgan served as sole placement agent.

The Chartis Group has acquired The Greeley Company, a leading provider of clinical effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and physician and medical staff services. The Greeley business was owned by Keystone Capital, which completed the sale to Chartis to expand Chartis's clinical quality and physician services capabilities.

First Eagle Investment Management has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire THL Credit, an alternative credit manager with roughly $17 billion in assets under management. The deal expands First Eagle’s alternative credit capabilities and scale, creating a combined platform with approximately $23 billion in assets under management and advisement upon closing.

Brainshark, a sales readiness platform provider, has acquired Rekener, a sales scorecard and analytics provider founded in 2016. The acquisition integrates Rekener's data-driven sales scorecards into Brainshark's readiness and enablement solutions to provide deeper visibility into rep activities and improve coaching outcomes.

Potomac Equity Partners’ portfolio company Laser MD Medspa has acquired Laser Gentle Medical Spa, adding two locations in Burlington and Natick, Massachusetts. The acquisition expands Laser MD Medspa’s footprint in Massachusetts as the platform pursues additional roll-ups and de novo openings to grow its medical spa network.

Sprinklr has acquired the social advertising business of Nanigans, integrating Nanigans’ ad management, predictive analytics, optimization, and reporting capabilities into Sprinklr Marketing. Nanigans will retain its incrementality business while many former Nanigans employees join Sprinklr to bolster the company’s performance and brand social advertising offerings.

Toronto-based content experience platform Uberflip acquired interactive content and lead-qualification vendor SnapApp in December 2019, integrating SnapApp’s team and capabilities to strengthen personalized content and demand generation functionality. The acquisition also accompanied Uberflip opening its first U.S. office in Boston to accelerate growth and better serve enterprise customers; SnapApp had been backed by Providence Equity Partners prior to the deal.

Funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC acquired a majority stake in PrismHR, the Hopkinton, Massachusetts–based HR technology platform. The transaction brings Stone Point into partnership with existing investor Summit Partners (which remains invested) and follows prior ownership by Accel-KKR; the investment is intended to fuel PrismHR's growth and expand its HR/payroll capabilities for SMB-focused HR outsourcers.

Proofpoint, Inc. completed its acquisition of ObserveIT, an insider threat management and endpoint monitoring platform, in November 2019. The deal brings ObserveIT's endpoint agent technology and data risk analytics into Proofpoint's people-centric security portfolio to extend data loss prevention (DLP) and insider-threat capabilities to endpoints.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has agreed to acquire Cynosure, LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of medical aesthetic treatment systems, from Hologic, Inc. The transaction is a divestiture of Hologic’s aesthetic devices business and will enable CD&R to invest behind Cynosure’s product portfolio, expand sales and marketing, and pursue tuck-in acquisitions to accelerate growth.

East West Manufacturing, an Atlanta-based electronics design and contract manufacturing partner, has acquired Boston-based Adcotron EMS, a specialized electronics manufacturing services provider. The add-on expands East West's domestic EMS capabilities and establishes a Northeast U.S. presence to support higher-mix, low-to-medium volume production and new product introduction for medical, robotics, telecommunications and other end markets.

BrandSafway has acquired Bowline Construction LLC, a Norwell, Massachusetts–based provider of commercial construction access systems, effective November 18, 2019. The deal expands BrandSafway’s motorized access and hoist capabilities in the New England region and establishes a motorized hub at Bowline’s Norwell location to collaborate with BrandSafway’s Boston branch.

The Planet Group, a portfolio company of MidOcean Partners, has agreed to acquire WinterWyman, a long-established staffing firm serving the Northeastern U.S. The deal expands Planet's professional staffing and consulting offerings—particularly in technology, finance & admin, and human resources—and is intended to drive cross-selling and further M&A growth for the platform.

Eliassen Group, a national strategic consulting and talent solutions firm based in Reading, Massachusetts, has acquired Webster Consulting Group, an IT consulting and staffing firm based in Woburn, Massachusetts. The deal brings Webster's project management, business analysis, QA, development and data & analytics staffing capabilities into Eliassen's broader service offering to expand capabilities and client reach.

Sverica Capital Management has made a strategic growth investment in Gryphon Networks, a Boston-based provider of sales performance management and compliance SaaS. The investment will help Gryphon accelerate product development and expand its sales performance management functionality to meet increasing customer demand.

Aqua Security acquired CloudSploit to expand its cloud-native security platform into Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and deepen VM security capabilities. The acquisition adds CloudSploit’s SaaS-based cloud configuration monitoring and open-source heritage to Aqua’s container, serverless and cloud workload protection offerings.

Roku, Inc. completed its acquisition of dataxu, a programmatic demand-side platform and ad analytics provider, to accelerate Roku's ad-tech roadmap and expand its buy-side capabilities. The deal (announced Oct. 22, 2019 and later closed) brings dataxu's DSP, device-graph technology and analytics into Roku's advertising platform to better serve advertisers and agencies.

GELPAC, a portfolio company of NAMAKOR, has acquired WBC Extrusion Products, Inc., a Haverhill, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of single-use blown polymer films for food, industrial, automotive, medical and commercial packaging. The deal, supported/financed by NAMAKOR and institutional investors including CDPQ and le Fonds Manufacturier Québécois, expands GELPAC's North American manufacturing footprint and integrates WBC's R&D and production capabilities with GELPAC's existing plants.

Cadence Aerospace, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, has acquired the OEM Manufacturing Division of B&E Group, adding two Massachusetts facilities (Southwick and Westfield) that specialize in complex, difficult-to-machine engine components for aerospace and defense customers. The deal expands Cadence's engine-component capabilities and creates scale across its Tell Tool and ADM operations as an add-on to the Cadence platform.

RealPage, Inc. agreed to acquire Buildium LLC for an initial purchase price of $580 million in cash, expanding RealPage’s SMB-focused property management platform. Buildium is a leading SaaS property management solution serving over 17,000 customers and ~2 million units under management, with roughly $50 million in trailing-12-month revenue (expected $60 million run-rate by year-end 2019).

BioAgilytix, a GHO Capital portfolio company, has acquired Cambridge Biomedical, a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based clinical research organisation specializing in large-molecule bioanalysis. The deal expands BioAgilytix's laboratory capacity and capabilities (including CLIA/CAP/GLP capabilities and PCR/molecular suites), broadens its geographic footprint into the Boston/Cambridge biotech cluster, and strengthens its cell- and gene-therapy bioanalytical offerings.

PTC completed the acquisition of Onshape, a cloud-native CAD and product development SaaS platform, to accelerate PTC's transition to a SaaS delivery model and expand its cloud CAD capabilities. Onshape will operate as a SaaS business unit within PTC with Jon Hirschtick reporting to PTC's CEO.

Symphony Talent has acquired SmashFly Technologies to combine Symphony Talent's employer brand and creative services with SmashFly's recruitment marketing and CRM platform. The deal expands the combined company's product capabilities and global footprint, positioning them to serve a broader set of large enterprise customers across healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and professional services.

Clarke Energy USA, a Kohler Company subsidiary, has acquired Cogeneration Systems of America, Inc. (operating as Co-Energy America), a Upton, Massachusetts developer of packaged combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The acquisition expands Clarke Energy's U.S. footprint and its CHP product/service capabilities across the 35 kW to 1 MW size range for commercial and institutional customers in the Northeast.

ConnectWise announced acquisitions of Continuum and ITBoost, adding Continuum’s AI-enabled RMM, managed security/NOC/SOC and ITBoost’s IT documentation capabilities to its business automation platform. The moves (alongside a partnership with Webinfinity) expand ConnectWise’s product suite for technology solution providers and strengthen managed services, security and documentation capabilities for MSP/TSP customers.

LaSalle Capital, with mezzanine financing from NewSpring Mezzanine, has completed the acquisition of Joseph's Frozen Foods from Brynwood Partners. Joseph's, headquartered in Haverhill, Massachusetts, is a manufacturer of frozen Italian pastas, sauces and meal solutions and will use the partnership capital to support product innovation and production capacity expansion.

Shopify Inc. has completed its acquisition of 6 River Systems, adding the company’s cloud-based fulfillment software and fleet of collaborative mobile robots to the Shopify Fulfillment Network. The 6 River Systems team of more than 130 employees will remain in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the company’s brand and operations will continue as Shopify expands its fulfillment capabilities.

Workfront has acquired Atiim, a strategic goals management startup, to add enterprise goal- and OKR-management capabilities to its work management platform. The acquisition is effective immediately and Workfront plans to launch a new Workfront Goals product in early 2020 to unify goals, work, and key results on a single enterprise platform.

VMware completed its acquisition of Carbon Black in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.1 billion (at $26 per share). Carbon Black will form the nucleus of a new VMware Security Business Unit to expand VMware’s cloud-native security and endpoint protection capabilities.

Ampersand Capital Partners completed a majority recapitalization of New England Peptide to support the company's worldwide growth initiatives and expand its peptide synthesis capabilities. As part of the transaction, Dr. José de Chastonay was appointed Executive Chairman; founders Sam and Jennifer Massoni remain noted in the announcement.

Alteryx acquired Feature Labs, an MIT-born data science software company that automates feature engineering for machine learning, to strengthen Alteryx's machine learning and AI capabilities and add an engineering hub in Boston. The acquisition integrates Feature Labs' automated feature-engineering technology and open-source libraries into the Alteryx Platform to accelerate time-to-insight for enterprise data workers.

Huron Capital’s IT solutions platform InterVision has acquired Fotis Networks, a Boston-area IT professional services firm specializing in cybersecurity, networking and infrastructure engineering. The add-on expands InterVision’s cybersecurity and cloud capabilities and provides access to Fotis’ government, healthcare and education clients; Fotis’ founder Frank Loulourgas will remain with the combined company.

Salesforce has agreed to acquire ClickSoftware from Francisco Partners for an enterprise value of $1.4 billion, adding Click's AI-driven field service management and scheduling capabilities to Salesforce's Service Cloud. Francisco Partners, which took Click private in 2015, was advised by Goldman Sachs and Paul Hastings during the transaction.

MML Capital Partners has made a significant minority (growth) investment in StoneTurn, a global advisory firm, to support the firm's expansion into new geographies and practice areas while preserving its independence. As part of the deal, MML partners Ian Wallis and Shawn St. Jean joined StoneTurn’s board; Investec advised StoneTurn and Houlihan Lokey advised MML.

Bullhorn, the Boston-based staffing software provider, has acquired Erecruit, an end-to-end applicant tracking and pay-and-bill software vendor serving staffing and recruitment firms. The acquisition is intended to expand Bullhorn One's capabilities — particularly pay & bill, onboarding, and mobile candidate experience — and accelerate digital transformation for staffing customers. Terms were not disclosed.

Palm Beach Capital (Fund III) made a minority growth investment in Consumer Products Distributors, LLC (d/b/a J. Polep Distribution Services) and Rachael's Food LLC, a long-standing full-line wholesale distributor to convenience and grocery stores. Financial terms were not disclosed; the investment is intended to support growth, product diversification and to help form a convenience-distribution platform for future consolidation.

NewSpring Growth, the growth equity arm of NewSpring, has completed a growth investment in aPriori, a Concord, Massachusetts-based provider of enterprise product cost management software. The capital will be used to accelerate development of role-based applications for engineering, sourcing and manufacturing teams and to expand aPriori's international operations.

KKR, via its Global Impact strategy, has acquired a majority stake in Burning Glass Technologies from Providence Strategic Growth. Burning Glass, a Boston-based labor market analytics and workforce data company, will continue to be led by its current management team as KKR supports the company's growth and impact-focused mission.

Windjammer Capital Investors has acquired Hilco Vision (The Hilsinger Company) in partnership with Hilco management; terms were not disclosed. Windjammer positions Hilco as a platform investment to accelerate growth through organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions in the eyecare/optical distribution market.

Luminate Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, made a strategic growth investment in Thought Industries to support the SaaS company's continued product development and market expansion. The investment will help Thought Industries enhance its customer learning platform and scale customer support and go-to-market activities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Lithion Power Group, a TriWest Capital Partners Fund V portfolio company, has acquired Aved Electronics from its existing shareholders with participation from Aved management. The acquisition adds Aved's battery pack manufacturing, cable and harness assembly, and electro-mechanical box-build capabilities to Lithion's offering, expanding product lines and end-market exposure into medical, defense, robotics and communications.