Acquisitions in Rhode Island in 2024

Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC has acquired substantially all the assets of Andsager, Bartlett & Pieroni, LLP (ABP), a 15-person boutique tax firm based in East Providence, Rhode Island. The deal brings three partners and 12 professionals into Citrin Cooperman, expanding the firm's presence in Providence and greater New England and enhancing its high-end tax capabilities for businesses and high-net-worth individuals.

Eastside Distilling, a Nasdaq-listed craft spirits company, closed its merger with AI-powered mortgage origination platform Beeline Financial Holdings, issuing a combination of common and preferred stock to Beeline shareholders. The transaction brings Beeline's digital, AI-enhanced mortgage platform into a public company, strengthens Eastside's balance sheet via a debt-for-equity exchange, and included the sale of Eastside's Craft Canning + Printing business.

Resurgens Technology Partners, a software-focused private equity firm, has made an investment in Relay, a provider of special education and Medicaid workflow and reimbursement software for K-12 school districts. The firm will partner with Relay's management to accelerate product innovation, expand go-to-market efforts and scale the company's reach across U.S. school districts; Lock 8 Partners was the company's prior majority investor.

Atalanta Corporation, part of the Gellert Global Group, has acquired Big Picture Foods, a small producer of Mediterranean-style, regenerative organic foods. The acquired brand will retain its leadership team and will receive Atalanta's distribution and resources to expand its product reach and enter new markets; terms were not disclosed.

Teamshares has acquired Chariho Furniture, a family-owned handcrafted furniture maker based in Richmond, Rhode Island; the transaction closed on September 1, 2024. Generational Group advised Chariho Furniture on the sale; Teamshares will transition the business to employee ownership as part of its national program to acquire and convert small businesses.

Hitachi High-Tech Corporation has acquired a majority interest in Nabsys, a Providence-based developer of the OhmX electronic genome mapping platform, making Nabsys a consolidated subsidiary. The deal aims to accelerate commercialization and global adoption of Nabsys' genome-mapping instrumentation and consumables and to strengthen Hitachi High-Tech's molecular diagnostics and genomics capabilities by combining Nabsys' hardware with Hitachi High-Tech's Human Chromosome Explorer analytics.

Newport Craft Distilling has acquired KEEL Vodka, bringing the premium light spirit into Newport Craft's portfolio alongside brands such as White Squall Vodka & Gin and Thomas Tew Rums. The deal will return KEEL production to Rhode Island, expand Newport Craft's vodka offerings, and support local manufacturing and job creation.

Terracon, an employee-owned engineering consulting firm based in Olathe, Kansas, has acquired Rhode Island-based SAGE Environmental and SAGE EnviroTech Drilling Services. The acquisition adds environmental assessment, remediation, permitting, regulatory compliance and specialized geotechnical/environmental drilling capabilities to Terracon’s existing Northeast operations and brings roughly 33 SAGE employees into Terracon.

World Insurance Associates LLC acquired the business of Affiliated Insurance Managers (AIM) of Warwick, Rhode Island on April 1, 2024. The acquisition expands World’s regional footprint in Southern New England and brings AIM’s commercial and personal lines book and client relationships into World’s national brokerage platform; terms were not disclosed.

American Securities has acquired NWN Carousel from New State Capital Partners in an undisclosed transaction. The private equity firm will back NWN Carousel’s expansion of its Experience Management Platform (EMP) and AI-enabled hybrid workplace and cloud communications services as the company pursues accelerated growth and additional M&A; NWN Carousel has grown to over $900 million in revenue and roughly 1,100 employees.

Source Capital has made an equity investment in Rapid Prep, a provider of surface preparation equipment rental, sales, fabrication and related services headquartered in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The partnership will provide capital and resources to accelerate Rapid Prep’s growth and expand its national footprint across maritime, defense, industrial and infrastructure end markets.