M&A wrap: Zix, AppRiver, MNG, Gannett, Tritium, Bain Capital, TA

E-mail security provider Zix Corp. (Nasdaq: ZIXI) is buying cybersecurity company AppRiver from Marlin Equity Partners for $275 million. True Wind Capital is also investing $100 million in convertible preferred equity. The target serves more than 60,000 companies, offering e-mail and web protection services. "The acquisition helps us expand our customer base, enhance our advanced threat protection position, and accelerate our high-velocity go-to-market strategy through AppRiver’s numerous and longstanding channel partnerships," says Zix CEO David Wagner. "Email is typically the first application that gets moved to the cloud, and this acquisition puts us squarely at the beginning of our customers’ cloud migration." Demand for new and improved cybersecurity offerings, in some cases spurred by well-publicized data breaches and ransomware attacks, has created a healthy appetite for M&A with cybersecurity-related companies. BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE: BB) is buying Cylance, LLR Partners invested in PhishLabs and Thoma Bravo-backed Centrify. RBC Capital Markets, Cowen (Nasdaq: COWN), and Baker Botts are advising Zix. Evercore (NYSE: EVR), DCS Advisory and Kirkland & Ellis are advising AppRiver. PJT Partners and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are advising True Wind. SunTrust Bank and KeyBanc Capital Markets are providing financing.

Deal news
USA Today publisher Gannett Co. received an unsolicited $1.36 billion offer from MNG Enterprises Inc., a company that has bought newspapers across the country and is known for its drastic cost cuts. Read the full story: USA Today owner gets buyout offer.

Lower middle-market private equity firm Tritium Partners has raised its second fund at $465 million. The PE firm now manages around $800 million in capital. Tritium focuses on the business services, financial services, information services and logistics sectors. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP advised Tritium on the fundraise.

Capital Dynamics has raised its first fund at $238 million. Capital Dynamics is a global asset management firm that focuses on private assets including private equity, private credit, clean energy infrastructure and energy infrastructure credit across Europe.

Bain Capital Private Equity is buying a majority stake in Brillio, a digital technology consulting firm. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising Brillio. Kirkland & Ellis and PwC are advising Bain.

TA Associates has invested in List SpA, a provider of trading and compliance software services to financial services firms. KPMG and Latham & Watkins advised TA. Studio MCCR advised List.

May River Capital has bought Marion Process Solutions. The target manufactures industrial mixers and blenders, as well as microwave vacuum drying systems, for the food, minerals, plastic, chemical and biomass industries. Paul Hastings advised May River. Shuttleworth & Ingersoll and Billow, Butler & Co. advised Marion.

Genstar Capital-Drillinginfo has purchased MineralSoft, a software provider for managing mineral assets.

LLR Partners-backed Eye Health America has acquired Donelson Eye Associates to expand its services in South Carolina.

The Segal Group has acquired Benz Communications, an HR and employee benefits communications consulting firm.

People moves
Michael Hardy and Nanette Heide have been named co-chairs of law firm Duane Morris' private equity group. Heide is one of Mergers & Acquisitions 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. For more, read Most Influential Women Q&A: Nanette Heide, Duane Morris.

Bill George has been named CEO at Yellow Wood Partners-backed Paris Presents, a cosmetics and bath accessories company. George is currently the CEO of Freeman Beauty, another Yellow Wood portfolio company.

Mark Harvey was hired by Metronome Partners as a managing director, where he is responsible for M&A, capital raising, and financial advisory engagements. He was previously with PwC.

Ryan Saari has launched The Old Boys Fund, a $180 million multi-family office-backed private equity fund seeking investment opportunities in operating companies with attractive risk-adjusted returns and long-term growth potential. The fund, managed by Old Boys Capital LLC, is comprised of all high-net-worth individuals and is closed to new investors. Saari previously held roles at Springhouse Capital, Landmark Group, Allegheny Financial and Steelgate.

Featured content
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. "Actively lobby and ask from day one to work on deals, so you can gain dealmaking experience early in your career," advises Bradley. "Too often, women are steered into functions like marketing, business development, and investor relations – the 'softer side' where it is easier to place a female. The excuse often used is that the females don’t have the deal experience of their male counterparts. That is why you must be an advocate for yourself and work on deals from the very beginning."

Related: Meet the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.

Mergers & Acquisitions asked leading dealmakers about their outlook for the middle market in 2019. Watch the video conversations, shot at ACG Philadelphia's M&A East: It is a seller's market, and deal activity is expected to remain steady, says Ramsey Goodrich of Carter Morse & Goodrich: Outlook 2019: Great time to sell. Private equity firms and strategic buyers will use their excess cash and capital to look for deals, says Bharat Ramprasad of Stifel Nicolaus: Outlook 2019: Excess capital to fuel M&A. Rising interest rates and regulatory changes may increase volatility, cautions Mark Emrich of Murray Devine: Outlook 2019: Keep an eye on rising interest rates.

Private equity firms are giving back - organizing groceries at food pantries, mentoring students in schools, running races for cancer cures and pitching in at animal shelters. Mergers & Acquisitions highlights the philanthropic and volunteering initiatives of 5 PE firms: the Carlyle Group LP (Nasdaq: CG), Frontier Capital, Huron Capital, the Riverside Co. and Star Mountain Capital. Read the full story, The Big Give.

GTCR managing director Phil Canfield learned the fundamentals of private equity investing at the Business Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Now he and his wife Mary Beth are giving back to UT’s McCombs School of Business. In recognition of the $20 million gift, the program has been renamed the Canfield Business Honors Program. "Private equity investors are wired to look for opportunities to get the very best returns for their investment," Canfield tells Mergers & Acquisitions in a Q&A. Read the full story: GTCR's Phil Canfield donates $20M to UT's McCombs School of Business.

Dealmakers share their thoughts on Giving Back in video interviews conducted by Mergers & Acquisitions at ACG Philadelphia's M&A East. Check out our video with Reed Smith's Jonathan Moyer: For millennial dealmakers, giving back is part of who they are. And watch our conversation with Baker Tilly Capital's Judit Nagy-Eichelber: Volunteer work brings teams together.

The construction data industry is fragmented, and there is a growing demand for technology that will help contractors, drawing deal activity particularly from strategic buyers. Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) and Trimble (Nasdaq: TRMB) are among the buyers in the sector. “There is a huge opportunity to streamline all aspects of construction through digitization and automation,” says Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost. Read the full story: Strategic buyers look to capitalize on construction data demand.

The Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saintsall won their games and will move on to the championship title round. Off the field, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady recently teamed with former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who is the co-host of ABC’s Good Morning America, to launch a sports media startup called Religion of Sports Media. Muhsin Muhammad, who played wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears, is a managing director of private equity firm Axum Capital Partners. Steve Young, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, is a co-founder of private equity firm HGGC. Check out: NFL stars Tom Brady, Michael Strahan, Steve Young go PE.

Events
ACG New York Women of Leadership Summit brings together women in the middle-market dealmaking community for a day focused on networking and knowledge sharing on Jan. 17 at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel. Alexa Von Tobel, chief innovation officer of Northwestern Mutual, keynotes.

Exponent Women kicks off the new year with an evening of networking on Jan. 24 at The Campbell, at New York's Grand Central Terminal. Jazz Age financier John W. Campbell converted the space to his private office and reception hall in 1923, and it has recently been restored by design firm Ingrao Inc.

ACG Boston, ACG Connecticut, ACG New Jersey, ACG New York & ACG Philadelphia host ACG Northeast Dealmaking at the Mountain at Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont Jan. 27-29. The event provides a chance for middle-market M&A professionals from across the northeast to come together for two days of close knit networking, shared conversations and valuable time spent to deepen your relationships within the deal community.