Acquisitions in Massachusetts in 2021

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) completed the acquisition of Quiet Logistics for approximately $360 million in cash, making Quiet a wholly‑owned AEO subsidiary. The purchase brings in-market fulfillment centers and fulfillment expertise to AEO to reduce delivery costs, improve inventory positioning, and create a supply‑chain platform AEO can scale for its own brands and third‑party customers.

Crocs, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately‑owned casual footwear brand HEYDUDE for $2.5 billion in a deal funded with cash and stock. HEYDUDE — founded in Italy and operating as a fast‑growing consumer footwear brand — will operate as a standalone division with founder Alessandro Rosano remaining in a creative/strategic role.

Tempo Software, a PE-backed provider of time, resource and portfolio management solutions, has acquired ALM Works, the developer of the Structure for Jira project and portfolio management suite. The deal expands Tempo's strategic portfolio management capabilities by combining ALM Works' project-structuring tools with Tempo's time and capacity management products as an add-on to its platform.

Arcline Investment Management has acquired a controlling stake in American Holt Corporation from founder and CEO Jon Levy. Arcline will partner with the existing management team to support American Holt’s growth as a technology-enabled supplier of aftermarket replacement parts serving food & beverage, paper converting, and material handling markets.

Envoy Solutions, a Glenview, Illinois-based distribution platform and subsidiary of FEMSA, has acquired Next-Gen Supply Group, a janitorial supply distributor based in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The acquisition expands Envoy's Northeast footprint, adds Next-Gen's distribution, chemical manufacturing and equipment repair capabilities, and increases the combined platform's operating scale and customer reach.

IMI plc has agreed to acquire Adaptas Solutions from Ampersand Capital Partners for $271 million in cash. Adaptas, a Palmer, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of mass spectrometry subsystems, fluidic modules and lab automation components with ~340 employees and projected 2021 revenues of about $80–83 million, will join IMI Precision Engineering to deepen IMI's life sciences product offering and OEM relationships.

Building Controls & Solutions (BCS) has acquired Interstate HVAC Controls, a Brighton, MA-based provider of building automation systems and components. The acquisition expands BCS's technical capabilities and establishes a New England presence to provide broader coverage and deeper service to commercial building customers across the United States.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of The Spofford Group Insurance Brokerage, Ltd., a Hingham, Massachusetts-based specialty insurance broker focused on management liability and financial institutions. Rob Spofford and the Spofford Group team will join Hub New England to deepen Hub’s financial institutions specialty practice; terms were not disclosed.

Avesi Partners has made a private equity investment in Danforth Advisors, with Stone‑Goff Partners exiting its stake. Danforth, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, provides financial, operational and clinical business support to life science companies; the investment is intended to help scale the company's services, people and geographic footprint to meet growing demand in the life sciences market.

BV Investment Partners has made a strategic growth investment in Intentsify to accelerate the intent data platform's growth and product innovation. Intentsify provides an Intent Activation platform that layers multiple intent data sources to power account-based marketing for B2B Fortune 500 and middle-market customers.

Mavrck, an enterprise influencer marketing platform headquartered in Boston, closed a $120 million growth investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. The funding will accelerate Mavrck's product expansion and development of an operations cloud to scale social proof capabilities for consumer brands.

OneDigital has acquired Benemax, a Medfield, Massachusetts-based benefits administration and consumer-directed healthcare firm. The transaction brings 40 Benemax employees to OneDigital and strengthens OneDigital's presence and capabilities in the New England benefits advisory and administration market.

LifeSpeak Inc., the Toronto-based mental health and total wellbeing SaaS provider, has completed the acquisition of Boston-area caregiver support platform Torchlight (EnCompass Education Solutions, Inc.). The deal — funded with US$17.25 million in cash plus LifeSpeak shares and potential additional milestone shares — expands LifeSpeak's digital caregiver capabilities and strengthens its presence in the United States while creating cross-sell opportunities across both companies' client bases.

Alcami Corporation has completed the acquisition of Masy Systems Inc. (Masy BioServices), a cGMP biostorage and pharma support services provider. The deal expands Alcami's biostorage capacity and complementary pharma support capabilities across multiple U.S. locations; financial terms were not disclosed.

Vishay Intertechnology agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of Barry Industries for $21 million in an all-cash deal announced December 15, 2021. The acquisition expands Vishay's resistor and semiconductor packaging capabilities and is intended to strengthen its position in telecom infrastructure, military/aerospace and automotive end markets.

Dental365 has acquired Beacon Dental Health, a Boston-based dental service organization that supports 14 general dental practices. The deal expands Dental365’s footprint into Massachusetts and Rhode Island, bringing the combined platform to over 90 supported practices and more than 1,000 employees (including 300+ dentists).

Digital Alpha led a majority investment (reported at $200M) to acquire a controlling stake in DTiQ, the provider of AI-driven video intelligence, analytics and managed services for restaurants, convenience stores and specialty retail. The deal includes a strategic collaboration with Cisco Meraki to extend DTiQ's cloud, AI and automation capabilities and accelerate product and market expansion.

Finvi, a provider of enterprise revenue-recovery technologies, has acquired Fonative, a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider that powered Finvi's Omni Voice platform for over a decade. The acquisition integrates Fonative's compliant voice and messaging capabilities into Finvi's product suite to accelerate communications offerings for regulated markets including financial services, healthcare, and government.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has acquired climate- and geospatial-data analytics firms risQ and Level 11 Analytics to expand its climate risk and alternative data capabilities for U.S. fixed income, municipal and mortgage-backed securities markets. The acquisitions bring risQ's and Level 11's geospatial mapping and ESG analytics into ICE's data and analytics offerings to enhance climate-risk measurement and investment decision tools.

Tenex Capital Management completed an investment in Black Diamond Networks, a specialized professional staffing firm focused on life sciences and engineering/technology talent. Northstar Capital provided junior capital (debt and an equity co-investment) to help finance the transaction, which was effective November 30, 2021.

Broadcom Inc. announced the acquisition of AppNeta, a Boston-based SaaS provider of network performance and digital experience monitoring, to extend Broadcom's DX NetOps capabilities. The deal integrates AppNeta's end-to-end, internet-aware visibility into Broadcom's infrastructure and AIOps tooling to provide enterprises with improved digital experience management across cloud, SaaS and remote user environments.

HealthEdge Software has completed the acquisition of Wellframe, a digital health management and member engagement platform. The deal adds Wellframe's consumer-facing mobile app and digital care management capabilities to HealthEdge's SaaS suite; new investors including Coatue, HLM Venture Partners, and BlueCross BlueShield Venture Fund joined as part of the transaction.

Graduway announced a merger with AI fundraiser enablement provider Gravyty to create a combined community and enablement software platform serving education, non-profits, and healthcare organizations. The combined business (with offices in London, Boston, Seattle and Tel Aviv) will integrate Graduway's community software and Gravyty's AI fundraising capabilities to scale alumni, mentoring, and fundraising programs.

Nordic Consulting has acquired S&P Consultants, a Braintree, Massachusetts-based healthcare IT consultancy known for Cerner services, bringing S&P’s ~90 IT veterans, clinicians, and revenue cycle specialists into Nordic’s global organization. The deal expands Nordic’s Cerner capabilities alongside its existing Epic and MEDITECH expertise, strengthening its advisory, implementation and enterprise technology services to serve nearly 600 healthcare provider customers globally.

Transom Capital Group acquired Wolters Kluwer's U.S. Legal Education business and the business will operate as Aspen Publishing, a provider of casebooks, study aids and digital learning tools for law schools and students. Transom will invest in product innovation and growth, partnering with Aspen management to expand digital learning and institutional solutions.

Cross-Fire & Security Co., a life-safety platform backed by AE Industrial Partners, acquired NISCO, Inc. (Northeast Integrated Systems and Northeast Fire Systems), a provider of fire alarm and life safety solutions in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The transaction is an add-on to Cross-Fire’s platform to expand capabilities and scale in the Northeastern United States; financial terms were not disclosed.

Venbrook Group, LLC acquired InterContinental Insurance Brokers, LLC, a Boston-based property & casualty insurance brokerage, to strengthen its East Coast presence and commercial real estate risk management capabilities. IIB founder Thomas E. Sleeper will continue to lead the business and become Managing Director of Venbrook Insurance Services Northeast Real Estate, supporting expansion of Venbrook's nationwide commercial real estate offerings.

SinglePoint, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80.1% controlling interest in Boston Solar, a Woburn, Massachusetts-based full EPC solar installer. The acquisition expands SinglePoint’s residential, small commercial and light industrial solar and storage capabilities in New England and is intended to drive revenue growth and operational synergies as part of SinglePoint’s roll-up strategy in renewable energy.

Kohlberg & Company will recapitalize Trinity Life Sciences, replacing Parthenon Capital as the company’s capital partner. The transaction provides Trinity with new growth capital to support global expansion, technology and data-driven capability investments while Trinity’s management team, led by CEO David Fitzhenry, will remain in place.

Epic Games has acquired independent game studio Harmonix, the developer behind Rock Band and Dance Central, to integrate immersive music experiences into Fortnite and support Harmonix’s existing titles. The Harmonix team will collaborate with Epic to develop musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite as Epic advances its metaverse strategy.

Twist Bioscience entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abveris (formerly AbX Biologics), an in vivo antibody discovery services company, for up to $190 million. The deal (approximately $150 million at closing in Twist common stock and up to $40 million contingent stock consideration plus limited cash) is intended to combine Abveris's mouse-based discovery platform with Twist's humanization and antibody engineering capabilities to broaden Twist's antibody discovery and biopharma services.

Labcorp has acquired Toxikon Corporation, a Bedford, Massachusetts-based contract research organization that provides nonclinical in vivo and in vitro testing for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients. The acquisition expands Labcorp Drug Development's nonclinical testing capabilities and creates a strategic Boston-area footprint; Toxikon reported approximately $40 million in annual revenue and the deal closed in December 2021.

Novo Nordisk agreed to acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals for $38.25 per share, representing an enterprise equity value of approximately $3.3 billion, to expand its RNAi capabilities. The acquisition builds on a 2019 research collaboration and brings Dicerna's GalXC RNAi platform and pipeline into Novo Nordisk to accelerate development of RNAi therapeutics across cardiometabolic, liver and rare disease indications. The tender offer completed in December 2021 and Dicerna is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Novo Nordisk.

Blackstone’s private equity funds have completed the acquisition of International Data Group, Inc. (IDG) from Oriental Rainbow, LLC (a China Oceanwide subsidiary) for an enterprise value of $1.3 billion. IDG — which includes IDC and IDG Communications — provides market intelligence, data and technology-focused media; Blackstone said it will partner with IDG to expand product offerings and drive technology innovation.

Blue Point Capital Partners has made a platform (growth) investment in Stax, a data- and analytics-driven strategy consulting firm, to accelerate the firm’s growth, expand offerings and geographies, and support talent recruitment. Stax, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Boston with 200+ employees, will work with Blue Point to enhance its Data & Digital, Human Capital, and M&A Execution capabilities.

Funds managed by Blackstone GP Stakes have acquired a minority ownership interest in Boston-based private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The minority investment is intended to support Great Hill’s continued growth and investment strategy; Evercore served as financial advisor to Great Hill while Kirkland & Ellis and Fried Frank served as legal counsel to Great Hill and Blackstone, respectively.

Pharmacosmos A/S (Pharmacosmos Group) has agreed to acquire all assets of Boston-based clinical-stage AbFero Pharmaceuticals, Inc. under a share purchase agreement for up to $225 million including upfront, milestone, and royalty components. The acquisition adds AbFero’s SP-420 iron chelation program to Pharmacosmos’ iron-metabolism-focused R&D and commercial capabilities to accelerate development and commercialization for transfusional iron overload and related indications.

American Refrigeration Company (ARC), a Southfield Capital-backed HVAC and refrigeration platform, has acquired Global Mechanical, a Newburyport, Massachusetts-based regional provider of commercial refrigeration and HVAC design, installation, and service. The deal expands ARC’s commercial refrigeration and HVAC capabilities across New England; Deerpath Capital Management provided debt financing.

Accenture acquired ClearEdge Partners, a Boston-area firm specializing in procurement spend management and software asset management, to strengthen its IT spend and procurement capabilities and integrate those services with Accenture's SynOps platform. Terms were not disclosed; ClearEdge brings roughly 100 professionals and proprietary methodologies to Accenture Operations.

EagleTree Capital has acquired The Channel Company from Stone-Goff Partners. The transaction keeps the existing management team in place and positions The Channel Company to accelerate the build-out of integrated marketing, data and analytics capabilities for the IT channel under EagleTree's ownership.

Trive Capital-backed Vitesse Systems has acquired Sterling Precision, Inc., a Clinton, Massachusetts manufacturer of dip-brazed assemblies, cold plates and waveguides. The add-on expands Vitesse's thermal management and precision waveguide manufacturing capabilities to better serve aerospace, radar and electronic warfare customers.

Vaco, a global talent solutions firm, has acquired Bay State Search, a Boston-based talent acquisition and outsourcing firm founded in 2013. The acquisition expands Vaco's presence into the Boston market and strengthens its consulting, contract and direct-hire capabilities across accounting & finance, technology and operations.

Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners has made a majority investment in Harvey Performance Company, a Rowley, Massachusetts manufacturer of precision cutting tools. The investment, partnered with Harvey CEO Pete Jenkins and management, acquires the company from Summit Partners and is intended to support Harvey's strategic growth and continued product and acquisition-driven expansion.

THREAD has acquired Modus Outcomes to combine its decentralized clinical trial (DCT) technology platform with Modus' clinical outcomes consulting, psychometrics and biostatistics capabilities. The deal (financial terms not disclosed) expands THREAD's scientific capabilities and global footprint — adding Modus' offices in London and Lyon and a team of ~40 experts to THREAD's DCT offering.

Arsenal Capital Partners has acquired AvCarb Material Solutions, a Lowell, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of engineered carbon components used in fuel cells, electrolyzers, flow batteries and industrial applications. Arsenal said the investment will support AvCarb's capacity expansion, international growth, and continued development of proprietary carbon-based materials; terms were not disclosed.

Bunzl plc, through a U.S. subsidiary, has acquired McCue Corporation, a Danvers, Massachusetts-based designer and manufacturer of engineered safety and asset-protection solutions. The sale represents an exit for Eureka Equity Partners, which had partnered with McCue since 2017 and helped drive significant product and EBITDA growth prior to the transaction.

Materion Corporation completed the acquisition of H.C. Starck Solutions’ electronic materials business (HCS-Electronic Materials) in Newton, Massachusetts for an aggregate purchase price of $380 million in cash on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The deal adds approximately $145 million of revenue and expands Materion’s capabilities and market position in premium thin film materials for the semiconductor, industrial, and aerospace & defense markets.

One Equity Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has acquired Momentum Manufacturing Group (MMG), an engineered products manufacturer headquartered in Georgetown, Massachusetts, from sellers including Akoya Capital, Landon Capital Partners, and Ironwood Capital. The transaction is a buyout intended to support MMG's next phase of growth and scale its manufacturing capabilities across its multi-facility footprint in New England.

Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical‑stage biotechnology company focused on cardiovascular therapeutics, received a private investment of up to $300 million from Bain Capital Life Sciences and Bain Capital Private Equity to advance its PDE9 and CaMKII inhibitor programs and to scale the business. The funding will support a major Phase 2 heart‑failure trial, initiation of first‑in‑human studies, and company growth; Bain Capital will also join Cardurion’s board alongside existing investors Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Polaris Partners.

Sydney-based Ultra Commerce has acquired Slatwall Commerce, a U.S.-based eCommerce platform, to integrate Slatwall’s capabilities into its enterprise commerce offering. The acquisition expands Ultra Commerce’s product functionality and global reach, enabling a single licensed platform to serve B2B, B2C and marketplace customers.