Financial deals, mergers and acquisitions in the tech ecosystem are mentioned daily in the Atlanta Inno Beat newsletter, along with insights on how personnel moves may impact a startup’s future. Sign up for the Beat to get it each day in your inbox.
Check out the most important mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and investments from Atlanta technology companies from January 2019. Did we miss a deal? Let me know at mhogan@americaninno.com.
Columbia Capital, an Alexandria, Va.-based private equity firm, purchased a majority interest in CPG, an Ashburn, Va.-based data center company. Following the purchase, Columbia Capital merged CPG with Atlanta-based Canara, according to the Washington Business Journal. The new company will keep the CPG name and its Ashburn HQ.
Novacap portfolio company Syntax Systems acquired Atlanta-based EmeraldCube Solutions, a provider of business tech solutions to JD Edwards customers. According to Fortune’s TermSheet, financial details weren’t disclosed.
The A3C Festival & Conference, a yearly Atlanta event dedicated to music, hip-hop, culture and technology, scored major investors from Atlanta startups The Gathering Spot and Paul Judge Media Group. Co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot, a coworking space, Ryan Wilson and Paul Judge, a technology entrepreneur and investor, acquired a controlling stake in the festival for an undisclosed amount, along with A3C co-owner and managing partner Mike Walbert, according to a news release. The announcement comes ahead of the conference’s 15 year anniversary, set for Oct. 8-13.
[To read more about the new investors, click here]
Featurespace, an Atlanta and U.K.-based fraud protection and risk management startup, raised $32.3 million from New York-based Insight Venture Partners and MissionOG. Other firms included in the round were existing investors IP Group plc, Highland Europe, TTV Capital, Robert Sansom and Invoke Capital.
[To read more about Featurespace’s funding raise, click here]
EarthLink, an IT security firm based in Little Rock, Ark., will establish its headquarters in Atlanta once more after a $330 million deal was approved with Trive Capital, a Dallas, Texas-based private equity firm. EarthLink was acquired for $330 million in cash from Windstream Holdings Inc. The holdings company merged with EarthLink in 2016 in a $1.1 billion deal. The acquisition includes the assets of nQue Technologies LLC and EarthLink’s Midtown Atlanta office building, which will serve as the company’s headquarters once more.
[To read more about EarthLink’s return to Atlanta, click here]
Smarp, a Helsinki, Finland-based content and distribution company, is planning to move its North American HQ from New York to Atlanta. As part of the move, Smarp plans to add 60 jobs and invest $3 million. The relocation was applauded by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Invest Atlanta.
ThingTech, an Atlanta-based industrial IoT platform as a service provider, announced it has raised $4 million of a Series A round from local BIP Capital and repeat investor Engage Ventures.
West Hill Global, Inc., an Atlanta-based tech company that provides platform solutions for the property insurance industry, raised $1 million of a $3 million round from eight investors, according to a filing with the SEC.
Atlanta-based private equity firm Resurgens Technology Partners raised $200 million for its flagship fund, according to Fortune’s Term Sheet.
Atlanta-based Elavon, a payment processor, acquired CenPOS, a Miami-based company offering integrated payment software solutions to large enterprises, according to a news release. The acquisition closed on Jan. 8 and financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fiserv, a Brookfield, Wisc., payments provider, merged with Atlanta’s biggest payments provider, First Data, in a $22 billion all-stock deal to create one fintech entity worth $4 billion. The merger was approved by both companies’ boards of directors, and the combined company will be called Fiserv. The deal is projected to close during the second half of 2019.
[To read more about First Data’s merger, click here]
MessageGears, a hybrid email marketing platform based in Atlanta, raised $550,000 from four investors, according to a filing with the SEC.
Popmenu, a SaaS startup based in Woodstock, raised $202,000 of a $1 million debt round, according to a filing with the SEC. Per LinkedIn, Popmenu helps “restaurants take real-time control of their menu and turn it into an essential tool for attracting and engaging guests and potential guests.”
Sharecare, a health and wellness engagement platform in Atlanta, recently announced several partnerships. In December, the startup partnered with CVS Caremark to launch a new program to help people save money on prescriptions, regardless of their insurance coverage. The company has also partnered with the state to launch a new incentive program with the Georgia Department of Community Health to reward state health benefit plan members who engage in healthy behaviors through its platform, according to a news release.
Innovative Architects, an Atlanta-based provider of application development and engineering services and solutions, was acquired by Improving, a portfolio company of Trinity Hunt Partners. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Responsive Surface Technology, an Atlanta-based smart bed and sleep tech company, closed $3.2 million of additional funding, according to a news release. The funding was raised from two Invest Atlanta-affiliated programs, the Atlanta Advantage Loan Fund and New Markets Tax Credit financing. The capital will be used to expand the company’s marketing and research efforts, and help it open its first company-owned store in West Midtown.
Deltek, a Virginia-based software and solutions provider for project-based businesses, acquired Avitru, an Atlanta-based construction specification content and software provider backed by Alpine Investors. The companies hope to provide solutions and services to architects, engineers, contractors, owners and building product manufacturers, according to a news release.
Bakkt, an Atlanta-based cryptocurrency exchange, raised $182.5 million from 12 notable investors and VC firms, according to a New Year’s Eve announcement. Boston Consulting Group, CMT Digital, Eagle Seven, Galaxy Digital, Goldfinch Partners, Alan Howard, Horizons Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft’s venture capital arm, M12, Pantera Capital, PayU, the fintech arm of Naspers, and Protocol Ventures participated in the round.
OnPay, Inc., an Atlanta-based online payroll services software company, raised $1.4 million of a $5 million round, according to a filing with the SEC. The funding was acquired from six investors.
Windsor Circle, a Durham, N.C.-based automated personalization startup, merged with Atlanta-based WhatCounts. The predictive marketing analytics company was acquired by Output Services Group last year. OSG announced that Windsor Circle was combined with another OSG firm, WhatCounts, and the two will operate under the name WhatCounts, which previously was an enterprise email marketing platform.
A University of Georgia educator received the New Innovator Award among the Food and Agriculture Research Awards from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. Jason Wallace, an assistant professor at UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was awarded $292,000, which will be used to fund his study of how crops are affected by the microbes that live inside them and how the environment impacts this relationship. Read more here.
Grubbly Farms, an Atlanta-based startup that designs all-natural chicken feed, raised $275,000 of a $750,000 debt round, according to a filing with the SEC.
