Francisco Partners has invested in Perforce Software. With the investment, the PE firm will become an equal partner with Clearlake Capital Group. The latter invested in Perforce in 2017. Perforce is an enterprise software provider to technology developers and development operations teams. Perforce is known for its automated mobile, web testing, developer collaboration and code analysis tools. “Throughout our partnership with Clearlake, Perforce has successfully accelerated revenue growth, continued significant innovation, and strengthened relationships with numerous blue-chip customers,” says Perforce CEO Mark Ties. Adds Clearlake partner Prashant Mehrotra: “This partnership with Francisco Partners further supports our original investment thesis and sponsorship of Mark and the collective management team's best in class playbook to sustainably drive organic growth combined with an aggressive M&A strategy in the DevOps market.” Some of Francisco's other recent investments include: portfolio company Dynamo Software buying Preqin Solutions; taking a majority stake in PayScale; and acquiring EG. Advisors to Perforce include: William Blair and Shea & Co. Financing was provided by Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Ares.
Technology permeates dealmaking today. “Tech is, more or less, touching everything,” as the authors of The 2019 BDO Technology Outlook Survey put it. You can see the impact of tech throughout the 2018 winners of Mergers & Acquisitions’ M&A Mid-Market Awards especially: Luminate Capital Partners founder Hollie Hayne scoring Dealmaker of the Year for raising a second fund to invest in enterprise software companies; and TA Associates winning Private Equity Firm of the Year for investing a record $2.8 billion in new portfolio companies, most of which are infused with technology one way or the other.
Related: Why private equity firms still love technology
Related: 10 private equity firms share strategies for tech M&A.
Call for nominations: Mergers & Acquisitions has opened up the nomination process for the second annual 2019 Rising Stars of Private Equity. Last year, we named 11 PE investors to the list, including Ethan Liebermann (pictured: top row, far right), who was recently promoted from principal to director of TA Associates, and Jennifer Roach Pacini (bottom row, far left), a vice president of Yellow Wood Partners. For the Rising Stars of Private Equity, we look for individuals who are full-time private equity investors and whose best days are yet to come. These are the folks you predict will one day play a key leadership role at your PE firm – or will head up their own. There is no age cutoff. As a general rule of thumb, we are looking for candidates beyond entry-level investing but before making partner. We publish the list online in July and in the July/August issue of the magazine. The deadline for nominations is end of day Thursday, May 23, 2019. Nominations will be accepted only through our online form. There is no fee.
CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE A RISING STAR OF PRIVATE EQUITY
DEAL NEWS
Gardner Denver Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GDI) is merging with Ingersoll-Rand's (NYSE: IR) industrial segment in a deal worth around $15 billion. Advisors to Ingersoll-Rand include: Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Advisors to Gardner Denver include: Citi, Baird and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
South African hospitality investment firm Kasada Capital Management has raised its first fund at $500 million. The fund will target both greenfield and brownfield projects. "The hospitality market is currently one of the most promising and yet underserviced sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa where growing economies and emerging middle class are creating high-growth markets that are left largely untapped," the firm says in a release. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP represented Kasada. The firm is co-led by Olivier Granet and David Damiba. Granet was previously Accor and Damiba was previously Helios.
Great Hill Partners has invested $90 million in Examity, an online education proctoring program. Raymond James & Associates advised Examity.
Shore Capital-backed EyeSouth Partners has completed its affiliation Cumberland Eye Care, Plateau ASC, Cookeville Eye Specialists and Perimeter ASC, all located in Tennessee.
JBT Corp. (NYSE: JBT) is buying Proseal uk Ltd., provider of tray sealing technology for the food industry, for $287 million.
TriMas (Nasdaq: TRS) has acquired Taplast S.p.A, a designer and manufacturer of dispensers, closures and containers for the beauty and personal care, household and food packaging sectors.
Firmenich has acquired a majority stake in flavors and seasonings company VKL Seasoning Pvt.Ltd, from True North.
PEOPLE MOVES
Jeffrey Day was hired as a managing director in the private credit and equity group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. He was most recently a managing director at Madison Capital Funding.
Pete Montoni was hired by law firm King & Spalding as a partner. Montoni is a former associate general counsel at Antares Capital.
Alex Patil has joined Monroe Capital as a managing director. He was previously with Medley Management.
DEAL TRENDS
Large medical device companies are focusing on small tuck-in deals in 2019 to bolster growth and research & development. Companies such as Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) are looking to strengthen their product lineups as they face increasing demand from an aging population. Meanwhile, lifespans are increasing and the middle class is expanding in developing countries, providing new markets. Activity is being driven by interest from investors and private equity firms, according to analysis from Fitch Solutions. Read full story: Big medical device companies focus on small-scale deals.
FEATURED CONTENT
Excelled. Innovated. Inspired. That’s what the eight winners of Mergers & Acquisitions’ 12th Annual M&A Mid-Market Awards did in 2018. Our awards honor the leading dealmakers and deals that set the standard for transactions in the middle market. In addition to Nike, award winners include: Fortive, TA Associates, the Riverside Co., Harris Williams, Monroe Capital, Goodwin and Luminate Capital Partners' Hollie Haynes. Read our full coverage: Meet the winners of the M&A Mid-Market Awards: Nike, Fortive, TA, Harris Williams.
Related: Read more about Mergers & Acquisitions' three annual special reports, including the M&A Mid-Market Awards, the Rising Stars of Private Equity, and the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.
Genstar Capital, Audax, HarbourVest ranked as the top U.S. private equity firms of 2018, based on volume of completed deals, according to PitchBook. Check out Mergers & Acquisitions' profiles of 21 firms that led the league tables. Top private equity firms: Genstar, Audax, HarbourVest and more
Also see: Top investment banks in PE-backed deals: KPMG, Houlihan, GS, William Blair.
Mergers & Acquisitions has named 36 leaders the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Kainos Capital's Sarah Bradley, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors' Nishita Cummings and Pelham S2K Managers' Venita Fields. All 36 are outstanding dealmakers both inside and outside of their firms. This year, we asked the featured dealmakers to tell their own stories through Q&As, including their advice for women. Related: Meet the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.
EVENTS
InterGrowth 2019 takes place May 6-8 at the Waldorf Astoria & Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida.
Innovation Works holds its second annual AI/Robotics Venture Fair in Pittsburgh May 15-16.
ACG Chicago hosts the Midwest Capital Connection, at The Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, May 21-22.
ACG New York, ACG Boston and ACG Philadelphia are holding the Industrial Conference with Value Creation at the Infor in New York on June 6. The event is part of the Northeast Industry Tour.
ACG Minnesota hosts the The Upper Midwest ACG Capital Connection at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot, June 10-11.
ACG Boston brings together 700-plus dealmakers for DealFest Northeast and DealSource Select 2019 at the Cyclorama & The State Room, June 12-13.
Exponent Women hosts the Annual Exchange, which brings a trusted network of women dealmakers together for a focused day of robust content and networking, at Second in New York, on July 11. The Exchange provides attendees with opportunities to establish new connections, reinforce existing ones, and absorb timely and relevant knowledge from industry leaders.
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