Six companies — most of them publicly traded — found desirable assets in Central Florida businesses this year, and the transactions that followed became some of the most notable acquisitions of 2023 so far. Covering the gamut from robotics to restaurants, many of the acquired companies have continued operating in their original locations.
In recognizing these acquisitions as among the most substantial, Orlando Inno acknowledges that the terms of many other deals were undisclosed because the parties involved are private. Disclosure is only required when a publicly traded company is in the mix.
CEO Dena Jalbert of Winter Park-based Align Business Advisory Services — who did not advise on these deals, but is one of the region’s top M&A advisors and an OBJ 2023 Power Player — had this to say in anticipation of 2024’s M&A trends: “An abundance of cash available from private investors will keep deal volumes strong overall. While 2023 was down from 2020-2022 levels, it still surpasses all other years in recent history.”
She went on to say that debt for deals greater than $500 million is still challenging due to today’s debt environment and high rates, but she sees middle-market and lower-middle-market deals remaining robust as they are less reliant on debt.
And now, here are some of the biggest deals of 2023, from the priciest on down:
Simply Self Storage, Orlando
Price tag: $2.2 billion
The deal: Orlando-based Simply Self Storage was sold for the second time in three years, this time trading for $1 billion more than the last transaction. Glendale, California-based self-storage giant Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) announced July 24 that it had entered into an agreement with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust to buy Simply Self Storage for $2.2 billion. The deal closed the next day.
The deal included 127 properties across 18 states and 9 million rentable square feet, according to a news release. In Dec. 2020, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust bought Simply Self Storage for $1.2 billion from a Brookfield Asset Management real estate fund.
Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Winter Park
Price tag: $715 million
The deal: On June 14, Orlando’s Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) — the nation’s largest restaurant company — acquired Ruth’s Hospitality Group for $715 million. The news broke in a May 2 Securities and Exchange Commission filing and subsequent May 3 news release when Darden announced it would buy all outstanding shares of Ruth's Hospitality for $21.50 per share in an all-cash transaction.
Ruth's Chris Steak House became the ninth chain restaurant brand in Darden's portfolio, which already included Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's. Darden President and CEO Rick Cardenas said in a prepared statement that Ruth's Chris is a "strong and distinctive brand" in the fine dining segment with a history of providing elevated dining experiences to guests.
Opening its first post-acquisition restaurant in Albany, New York on Aug. 28, the chain now has now has 155 restaurants worldwide. Ruth’s Chris is known for serving USDA Prime steaks sizzling on a 500-degree plate.
Safemark Systems, Orlando
Price tag: $180 million
The deal: On Feb 28, CTM Group of Salem, New Hampshire acquired Safemark Systems for $180 million. Safemark was a portfolio company of Atlanta, Georgia-based MSouth Equity Partners, and is a global supplier of safes for the hospitality industry.
Safemark has continued to operate locally. The acquisition added to the range of CTM Group offerings, which provides managed entertainment installations for tourist destinations, predominantly built-in entertainment experiences for hotels and cruise ships like game rooms.
For example, the company outfitted the cruise ship Margaritaville at Sea with an arcade and gaming experience in 2022. The acquisition is a natural fit considering CTM’s existing customer base aligns with Safemark’s.
Assa Abloy AB of Stockholm, Sweden also participated in the round, taking a minority stake in Safemark is the largest European hospitality safe provider.
Tomahawk Robotics, Melbourne
Price tag: $120 million
The deal: On Sept. 18, Arlington, Virginia-based AeroVironment, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVAV) acquired Tomahawk Robotics of Melbourne, a tech firm that launched at Groundswell Startups, an entrepreneurial support organization. Tomahawk makes AI-enabled robotic control systems for the military.
An AeroVironment news release noted that the integration of the two companies’ technologies would improve unmanned systems through a singular platform with similar control features.
AeroVironment’s Chairman, President and CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a prepared statement combining the two companies’ technologies would improve solutions for his company’s customers’ operational needs. He also cited Tomahawk’s talented workforce as a reason for the acquisition.
AeroVironment has clients in 55 allied countries.
KeKe’s Breakfast Café, Orlando
Price tag: $82.5 million
The deal: On July 20, Spartanburg, South Carolina-based Denny’s (Nasdaq: DENN) bought KeKe’s Breakfast Café from Orlando-based K2 Restaurants, Inc. The deal included the Keke’s franchise assets and liabilities along with eight restaurants owned and operated by the sellers.
Keke’s, which has a total of 52 restaurants, continues to run independently out of its Orlando offices.
Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade said in a prepared statement that the appeal of the popular breakfast eatery segment played a role in the decision. The “complementary concept serves a different guest [than Denny’s] and can enhance value for our shareholders,” she said.
As of March 30, 2022, Denny’s had 1,634 franchised, licensed, and company restaurants around the world.
Visual Information Solutions, Melbourne
Price tag: $70 million
The deal: NV5 (Nasdaq: NVEE), an engineering firm headquartered in Hollywood, acquired a piece of defense technology firm L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) on April 10. L3Harris made its divestiture of its geospatial data analysis business unit Visual Information Systems public in Dec. 2022, saying the move was “consistent with the company’s broader strategy to continue portfolio optimization, and to align long-term innovation investments for national security priorities.”
In a prepared statement, NV5 CEO Dickerson Wright said the deal — which cost the company $70 million — would contribute to NV5’s subscription-based geospatial product and services.
The acquisition included 16 U.S. patents for geospatial data analytics, 13 U.S. and non-U.S. trademark registrations for geospatial software applications, and 500,000 global users.
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