"A flurry of recent investments and merger and acquisition activity suggests 2018 could be an active year for purchases in third-party logistics and for technology firms that provide usable data and an open view of the supply chain," predicts Transport Topics, a publication that covers logistics and trucking. There have been a lot of recent deals in logistics. For example, FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) acquired P2P Mailing Ltd., a U.K. provider of e-commerce transportation services worldwide. Acquiring P2P Mailing allows FedEx to more effectively serve the e-commerce market, says Carl Asmus, CEO of FedEx Cross Border. Wind Point Partners-backed St. George Logistics recently announced two deals.

SB Projects founder Scooter Braun and Marvel Studios founding chairman David Maisel have formed an entertainment joint venture called Mythos Studios. As a result, Mythos acquired a 50 percent stake in Aspen Comics, along with the entertainment rights for the comic book company's intellectual property, artwork and characters that were created by late founder Michael Founder. SB Projects is a diversified media and entertainment company with a roster that includes Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and Ariana Grande. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom represented Maisel.

Energy focused private equity firm Five Point Energy raised a new fund, Five Point Energy Fund II LP, at $750 million. Houston-based Five Point manages more than $1.5 billion in capital. Hogan Lovells advised the PE firm, while Eaton Partners served as placement agent.

Comvest Partners acquired Iron Mountain-Michigan-based Systems Control, a manufacturer of control and relay panels used in electrical transmission and distribution substations. DCS Advisory and Godfrey & Kahn advised Systems Control. Stifel and McDermott Will & Emery advised Comvest. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Lower middle-market private equity firm L2 Capital Partners formed a platform that will focus on the camping sector through the investments of Insight 2 Design and Elevate LLC. The targets make camping equipment such as tents and sleeping bags. The new company will be called Worldwide Camping Holdings. Farragut Capital Partners, Salem Investment Partners and Oxer Capital provided the debt financing and also co-invested on the deal. In another outdoor deal, in 2017, Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CWH) purchased TheHouse.com, an online retailer of bikes, snowboards and outdoor sporting gear.

Washington, D.C.-based business advisor Ankura acquired managing consulting firm C/3 Consulting of Nashville for undisclosed terms. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP advised Ankura. Equiteq Securities LLC and Baker, Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz advised the target.

Karin Kovacic has joined Monroe Capital as a managing director. She was previously with Alcentra Capital. Kovacic was previously named one of the Most Influental Women in Mid-Market M&A. In addition, the Chicago lender hired Ryan Flanders as vice president, where he will serve on the firm's investor relations team. Flanders was most recently the head of private debt products at Preqin.

Wade Hansen has joined Los Angeles-based Intrepid Investment Bankers as a managing director where he will focus on M&A in the healthcare, technology and digital media sectors. He was previously the co-founder of MHT Partners and founder of Cabrillo Advisors.

Cheryl Carner and Evren Ozargun have been promoted to senior managing directors, and Tyler Harrington and Kenny Smith have been promoted to managing directors at Boston-based middle-market lender Crystal Financial, which is backed by Solar Capital.

A lot of executives make the mistake of believing the end of the project plan marks the end of the integration, but there’s still much more work to be done in order to achieve the real benefits of the merger, according to Accordion's John Jureller. Read the full story here.

Dealmakers love March Madness, and many middle-market firms have roots in the same communities as the teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four. Check out our slideshow, which features the Final Four teams-Loyola-Chicago, Michigan, Villanova and Kansas, and the middle-market firms that share the teams’ home towns.

Read full coverage of the 11th annual M&A Mid-Market Award winners: Campbell Soup, Huron Capital, Idera CEO Randy Jacops, LLR Partners, McGuireWoods, Stryker, Twin Brook and William Blair.