Image courtesy of Tracy Burns.
As Q1 wraps up, we bid farewell to the last three months of Cincy innovation with our Queen City Quarterly Report, a roundup of the fundings, deals, mergers and acquisitions to go down in the region in the quarter. (Catch up on other Quarterly Reports you may have missed here.)
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January
- Ninety-five percent of Swedish 3D-printing company Arcam AB’s shares will belong to General Electric after it buys out the company’s other investors, Polygon Investment Group and Elliott Management, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports.
- Cincinnati-based RV retailer Family RV Group, which is owned by Kidd & Co., has acquired Dunlap RV Centers, Axios’ Pro Rata newsletter reports. Dunlap has four locations in Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Pritzker Group Private Capital-owned and Cincinnati-based packing company ProAmpac has acquired Bonita Pioneer Packaging Products, based in Portland, Ore., the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Payments processor Vantiv has completed its acquisition of U.K.-based Worldpay Groupfor $11 billion, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Vantiv has subsequently become Worldpay Inc. and has kept its headquarters in Symmes Township. The report adds that should the companies have merged last year, they would have ranked 287th on last year’s Fortune 500 list.
- New York-based Level Equity invested $7 million into Mason-based Stack Construction Technologies Inc., the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The company, one of CincyTech’s portfolio startups, makes cost-estimating software for the construction industry, and this investment marks the largest Stack has ever received.
- Atlanta-based learning and change implementation company Iansiti Performance Group Inc. has been purchased by Covington-based Tier1 Performance Solutions, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Terms of the deal weren’t announced.
February
- Publicly traded recreational vehicle maker Thor Industries Inc. of Elkhart, Ind., partnered with New Zealand-based, “world’s largest” RV rental and sales operator Tourism Holdings Ltd. to form TH2, a joint venture that will be headquartered in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. That’s not all! TH2 will acquire digital road trip planning developer Roadtrippersand Roadtrippers Australasia, as well as Cosmos, Mighway and Campermate. While Thor’s initial investment is expected to be about $50 million, terms of the Roadtrippers deal were not disclosed.
- Recreation vehicle manufacturer Airstream Inc. invested $40 million into a new 75,000-sq.-ft. space north of Dayton, with construction expected to begin in late spring, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Airstream is a part of Indiana-based Thor Industries, which acquired the Cincinnati-based startup Roadtrippers.
- Cincinnati-based enterprise Internet of Things platform Losant has raised $5.2 million in Series A funding. CincyTech led the round, with Revolution’s new Rise of the Rest Seed fund, Vine Street Ventures and TechNexus also participating. Read more.
- Joe Woods, Phil Johnson and Chris Mehlhorn, all former executives at Fort Washington Capital Partners, have debuted Cincinnati-based private equity fund Timber Bay Partners, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. According to a SEC filing, the group has already raised $95 million in private equity funding for its Timber Bay 1 fund from 17 unnamed investors, with a goal of raising $200 million.
- The Farmer Family Foundation will donate $10 million in an effort to help the Cincinnati Cancer Center pursue designation as a national cancer research hub, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The foundation’s trustees include Cintas Corp. CEO Scott Farmer.
- Fifth Third Bank announced that it will partner with supplier management software solutions provider ConnXus, using its tech to help diversify the bank’s supply chain. “This strategic partnership will bring increased transparency and inclusion to Fifth Third’s cross-functional supply chain,” said Daryl Hammett, co-owner and chief operating officer of ConnXus. “This collaborative effort will streamline spending reporting and set an example for responsible and sustainable supplier management standards across the banking sector.”
- New Zealand skin care company Snowberry has been acquired by Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The move marks the second acquisition for P&G in the past three months. The company declined to disclose terms of the deal.
- Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to acquire Coker Capital Advisors, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Coker advises businesses on buying and selling other companies,” the report states, and the acquisition is “bolstering [Fifth Third’s] health care expertise.” The deal is expected to be finalized in by quarter’s end.
- New Zealand skin care company Snowberry has been acquired by Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The move marks the second acquisition for P&G in the past three months. The company declined to disclose terms of the deal.
- Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to acquire Coker Capital Advisors, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Coker advises businesses on buying and selling other companies,” the report states, and the acquisition is “bolstering [Fifth Third’s] health care expertise.” The deal is expected to be finalized in by quarter’s end.
- Cincinnati-based healthy vegetable dip startup Vegy Vida has raised $1.8 million in seed funding, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Keiretsu Forum Midwest of Cincinnati led the round.
- West Chester-based E-Technologies Group has received an undisclosed investment from Falfurrias Capital Partners, Fortune’s Term Sheet newsletter reports.
- A $750,000 SBIR Phase II contract has been awarded to sweat technology startup Eccrine Systems, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The contract allows the company to develop its tech for commercial use while congruently continuing its research for the U.S. Air Force.
- The Vatican (yes, that one) invested $150,000 in Papr, a graduate of UpTech’s fifth class, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Papr, originally based in India, works with companies to automate their paper disposal process, ultimately toning down on waste.
March
- Fifth Third Capital has invested a reported $1 million in New York-based teenage debit card startup Current, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The move was part of Current’s $6 million Series A round.
- Software company Cloverleaf, which uses personality assessment tools to help increase productivity and hire employees, has raised its first round of seed funding, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The funding will go towards expanding Cloverleaf’s headcount and reaching its customer base, as well as improving “customer usability.” Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
- Local conveyor systems manufacturer QC Industries has been acquired by Warbug Pincus portfolio company Duravant, Fortune’s Term Sheet newsletter reports. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
- The JumpStart-powered KeyBank Business Boost & Build program has awarded $100,000 to the Cincinnati Chamber Minority Business Accelerator. The capital, which was via the KeyBank Center for Technology, Innovation and Inclusive Growth, will go toward producing a business development platform with other CMBC members and Northern Kentucky University.
- 2018 Pipeline H20 class member Cerahelix has closed $2 million Series B funding round, Cincy Inno has learned. The round was led by PureTerra Ventures, with participation from Maine Venture Fund and Propel(x). Cerahelix develops a pico-filtration product, “a ceramic membrane filter that achieves ten times higher purity than today’s best commercially available ceramic filters,” and Pipeline H20 is a Hamilton-based accelerator for water technology.
- New York-based CommonBond, a company that helps students pay for college that’s considered one of the world’s most innovative businesses, has closed a $50 million Series D round led by Fifth Third Bancorp’s direct equity investment unit, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Columbia Seligman and First Republic Bank also participated in the round, along with existing investors.
- Denver-based seller of cloud computing infrastructure services Faction has raised $18 million in equity funding during a Series B round led by River Cities Capital in Cincinnati, the Denver Business Journal reports. Dell Technologies Capital, as well as Faction’s existing backers, participated in the round.
- Mercy Health-Cincinnati has announced that it has invested in local addiction treatment tech company Crosswave Health, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
(Fundings were compiled from SEC filings, Fortune's Term Sheet newsletter, the Cincy Inno Beat, and the National Venture Capital Association).
