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February 6, 2020
Dean Zayed: Ready To Deal, Not Ready To Walk
By Mark Scott
Dealmaking provides options. Darryl Ronconi and Dean Zayed found a way to sell a majority interest in Brookstone Capital Management and retain a strong voice in the company moving forward.
January 23, 2020
Frontenac’s Ronald W. Kuehl: Find Ways To Create Value, Then Execute Your Plan
Frontenac's Ronald W. Kuehl focuses on investments in the commercial, industrial and business service sectors, using a mix of patience and urgency to find good deal opportunities.
January 20, 2020
Samya.AI Raises $6M In Seed Funding Led By Sequoia India
Samya.AI is an enterprise revenue growth AI SaaS company headquartered in Chicago with offices in London and its main product and R&D center in Bangalore, India.
January 16, 2020
LaSalle Network’s Tom Gimbel: Entrepreneur Still Searching For The Right Deal
The decision to make a deal is often a matter of perspective, says LaSalle Network’s Tom Gimbel.
January 9, 2020
Americaneagle.com’s Michael Svanascini: When Customer Acquisition Wins Out Over Cultural Fit
While cultural fit is often critical to achieving a successful acquisition, it’s not mandatory, says Americaneagle.com’s Michael Svanascini.
January 3, 2020
Clearcover Closes $50M Series C Funding Round
This round follows the company's $43 million Series B, which closed in January 2019, and brings Clearcover's total funding to more than $104 million since its 2016 founding.
January 2, 2020
2020 Forecast: What To Expect For The Year In Dealmaking in Chicago
We spoke with LaSalle Network's Tom Gimbel, Sun Acquisitions’ Domenic Rinaldi and Cendrowski Corporate Advisors’ Harry Cendrowski to get their thoughts on what to expect from a dealmaking perspective in 2020.
December 24, 2019
Culligan Buying AquaVenture Holdings for $1.1B
AquaVenture offers point-of-use filtered water systems and related services, as well as desalination and wastewater treatment products to governmental, municipal, industrial and hospitality customers.
December 23, 2019
Chicago 2019 Dealmaking Year In Review
With 2019 just about over, we’re taking a look back at some of what we learned this year.
December 18, 2019
RPM-Backed Mantrose-Haeuser Buys Profile Food Ingredients
Local Deals Chicago Cleveland
December 12, 2019
Pre Brands’ Jason Pinter: Build An Investment Thesis That Works For You
Feedback is important as you’re building a business. But you’ve got to do what you think is best, says Pre Brands’ Jason Pinter.
December 11, 2019
Palumbo-Led Group Sells River North Office Building In Chicago
Local Deals Chicago
December 6, 2019
JLL Income Property Trust Buys AZ-Based Distribution Center In $31M Deal
Chandler Distribution Center is a 211,000-square-foot, Class A industrial asset located in the southeast submarket of Phoenix.
December 4, 2019
Pondera Holdings Leads $31M AutoPets Recap
The investment is intended to accelerate the company's growth, as well as provide a liquidity event to the founders of the business.
December 4, 2019
Stuart Sorkin: Turnaround Deals Can Be Fulfilling, If You Know What You’re Facing
Assess a company from every angle before you go forward with acquiring the business.
November 26, 2019
Target Data’s Ross Shelleman: Are You Ready To Make A Deal?
Before you get into a deal, you need to figure out if you have a willing seller, says Target Data’s Ross Shelleman.
November 19, 2019
Home Chef’s Pat Vihtelic: What’s The Recipe For Success In Your Business?
Pat Vihtelic created Home Chef to transform the way we all cook and eat. A lucrative deal with Kroger has allowed him the space to do just that.
November 14, 2019
PwC’s Exit Strategies Report: When It’s Time To Sell, Make Sure You’re Ready
It’s OK if you’re not ready to sell now. Just be sure you’re ready when that time comes, say PwC’s Fentress Seagroves and Shari Forman.
November 12, 2019
Longaberger intellectual property sold
Xcel Brands Inc. and Chicago-based Hilco Global have acquired the intellectual property of Longaberger. Xcel Brands, a media and consumer products company, will manage the American heritage home and collectibles brand out of its New York City headquarters going forward.
November 12, 2019
Threekit Closes $20M Series A Round
The funding round was led by Shasta Ventures. Additional investors include Salesforce Ventures, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Hall of Famer Steve Young, Marketo Co-Founder Phil Fernandez and serial SaaS entrepreneur Godard Abel.
November 7, 2019
BGL Sells Warnock Food Products To Calbee
Local Deals Chicago Cleveland Philadelphia
November 6, 2019
Clearcover’s Kyle Nakatsuji: Talk To As Many Investors As You Can
Pitching investors works best when you connect with as many as possible, says the auto insurer's CEO.
October 30, 2019
Shore Capital Partners’ Justin Ishbia: Shared Vision Often Leads To Great Deal Opportunities
Shore Capital Partners's Justin Ishbia sees tremendous potential for growth at Akron, Ohio-based Main Street Gourmet.
October 29, 2019
Proper Rate Is New Joint Venture For Guaranteed Rate, @properties
The new company, which plans to launch early in 2020, intends to deliver a high-end, customer-focused retail mortgage lending experience and drive growth in select markets around the country.
October 21, 2019
Harry Cendrowski: Take Steps To Ensure You Have A Comprehensive M&A Strategy
Any time you rush into M&A activity, the likelihood is that you’re not going to do very well, says Harry Cendrowski.
October 16, 2019
Perfect Home Services To Buy Able Heating & Cooling
Able Heating & Cooling owners Pete and Sherry Manthe will remain with the business for the next couple of years to ensure a smooth transition for their customers.
October 16, 2019
Sphera’s Paul Marushka: A Little Conversation Can Go A Long Way In Dealmaking
One M&A transaction can lead to another, if you take the right approach. Paul Marushka explains how dealmaking is driving his vision at Sphera.
October 10, 2019
Fyllo’s Chad Bronstein: Pitch Investors With Confidence, Not Arrogance
Chad Bronstein shares tips on how he engaged investors and helped Fyllo raise $18 million in seed funding.
October 4, 2019
How TPC Training's Ty Field Sizes Up Acquisitions
Ty Field, brought in by Frontenac to build up TPC Training, talks about his approach to making acquisitions.
October 1, 2019
Golub & Co. Buys Chicago Loop Office Tower Burnham Center
Golub & Co. plans to refresh the tenant amenities, which include a fitness center, private tenant lounge, and conferencing facilities. Ground-floor retail includes a mix of national and regional tenants.
September 27, 2019
How DNS Capital Finds The Right Deals
DNS Capital's Elizabeth Browne talks about the importance of good management and the challenges of finding the right company in which to invest.
September 27, 2019
Studio B’s Bonnie Smith: Think Before You Bootstrap
Brand agency founder Bonnie Smith talks about the key questions you need to ask before you try to bootstrap your business and her role as a pioneer for other African-American female entrepreneurs.
September 20, 2019
Selling A Business Is All About Focus
Sun Acquisitions President Domenic Rinaldi talks about a seller whose lack of focus killed a deal, tips on identifying the right buyer and the problem with selling to a competitor.
September 19, 2019
Shore Capital Partners Completes Recap Of Main Street Gourmet
Local Deals Chicago Cleveland
September 18, 2019
Idelic raises $8M Series A round
Idelic, a Pittsburgh-based data and analytics startup, closed an $8 million Series A financing round, led by Chicago’s Origin Ventures with participation from TDF Ventures, Birchmere Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and SaaS Venture Capital. Idelic will use the funds to grow its engineering and sales teams, and pave the way to release a mobile application.
September 13, 2019
VillageMD’s Tim Barry: Investors Want To Give You Money
The co-founder and CEO of the healthcare management services company talks about his strategy when raising capital and the importance of establishing an ongoing dialogue with potential investors.
September 10, 2019
Kraft Heinz venture fund invests in cheese startup
New Culture, the San Francisco startup making animal-free dairy cheese, closed $3.5 million in seed round funding. The round was led by Evolv Ventures, the $100 million venture fund backed by Kraft Heinz investing in emerging tech companies transforming the food industry.
September 10, 2019
McDonald’s Invests In Voice Technology, Buys Apprente
The Apprente team will be the founding members of a new, integrated, internal group within McDonald's Global Technology team called McD Tech Labs.
September 6, 2019
Svoboda Capital's Jeff Piper: Culture, Leadership Are Keys
Managing Director Jeff Piper about Svoboda Capital Partners' formula for identifying good investment opportunities and what entrepreneurs can do to capture the eye of investors.
September 6, 2019
Wind Point to buy Callery from Edgewater Capital
Local Deals Pittsburgh Chicago ClevelandSeptember 4, 2019
Boston REIT completes $90.5M of purchases in four markets
Local Deals Chicago ColumbusSeptember 3, 2019
Inland Private Capital Sells Multifamily Property In $15M Deal
Local Deals Chicago
August 30, 2019
Debt Advisor Tom Lesch On Financing Riskier Deals
Livingstone Partners' Tom Lesch talks about his approach helping companies get the capital they need, as well as a recent trend that has seen borrowers become less willing to take risks.
August 28, 2019
First Midwest To Buy Park Bank In $195M Deal
Park Bank is one of the largest independent commercial banks in Milwaukee with approximately $1 billion of total assets, $815 million of deposits — of which approximately 85% are core deposits — and $700 million of loans.
August 23, 2019
John Rowady's rEvolution Accelerates Growth Through Deals
John Rowady, founder and president at marketing agency rEvolution discusses his passion for M&A and the strategy he follows to identify the right acquisition targets.
August 22, 2019
SpotHero Announces $50M In Series D Funding, Closing In On $1B In All-Time Sales
The company offers the largest place to buy and sell parking in North America and has helped digitize nearly 7,000 parking facilities in the U.S. and Canada.
August 8, 2019
GovQA's Growth Equity Deal: It's About Insight, Not Money
John Dilenschneider didn’t need money. He wanted a partner that could help GovQA capitalize on its leadership position in the growing market of enterprise workflow software.
August 2, 2019
Navigant to be bought by Guidehouse for $1.1B
Chicago-based consulting firm Navigant Consulting Inc. is set to be acquired by Guidehouse, a Washington D.C.-based management consulting firm for $1.1 billion.
August 2, 2019
Stuart Sorkin: No Secret Equation For Right Time To Exit
Stuart Sorkin talks about his journey rejuvenating Affy Tapple and the difficulty he faced making the decision to exit the business.
July 26, 2019
Harry Cendrowski: Due Diligence Critical To Successful Acquisitions
Harry Cendrowski, founding member and managing director at Cendrowski Corporate Advisors, discusses the evolving approach to due diligence in dealmaking.
July 22, 2019
Etsy To Buy Reverb In $275M Deal
Acquiring the leading online marketplace for new, used and vintage musical instruments will enable Etsy to expand into a new vertical with a company that has a similar strategy and business model.
July 18, 2019
Gabriela Rodil: Best Practices For Selling Your Business
The experienced dealmaker talks about best practices when putting your company on the market and the keys to optimizing its value.
July 16, 2019
Built In Closes $22M Series C Funding
This is the second-largest round of funding in Chicago raised by a woman CEO leading a digital technology company, according to Pitchbook.
July 16, 2019
Middleby Buys Packaging Progressions Inc.
Packaging Progressions is a $30 million Pennsylvania-based provider of automated packaging technologies for customers in the protein and bakery segments.
July 10, 2019
At DNS Capital, Management Talent Drives Investment
The family office for Gigi Pritzker and Michael Pucker follow Jay Pritzker's mantra of investing in exceptional management teams to drive success, says Elizabeth Browne, the firm's head of business development.
July 3, 2019
Zebra Technologies Keeps $4 Billion Business Growing With M&A
Dealmaking has played a key role in Zebra Technologies becoming a $4.2 billion company and will continue to be critical to the company’s growth, says CFO Olivier Leonetti.
June 28, 2019
Livongo Health files for IPO
The startup — co-founded by Chicago entrepreneur Glenn Tullman, former CEO of AllScripts — is expected to attain a valuation of more than $1 billion.
June 28, 2019
Guaranteed Rate’s Victor Ciardelli: Don't Panic When A Deal Goes Bad
Guaranteed Rate founder Victor Ciardelli talks about the steps he takes to avoid difficult acquisitions and the important role culture plays in determining the success of a deal.
June 25, 2019
Cameo Closes $50M Series B Round
Funds from the new round, led by Kleiner Perkins, will be used for platform enhancements and an expansion of the company's U.S. and international footprint.
June 20, 2019
2019 Chicago Dealmaker Of The Year Awards
The ASPIRE Dealmakers Conference brought together hundreds of dealmakers, investors and entrepreneurs at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago on June 19. During the conference, Smart Business Dealmakers recognized a few top deals and dealmakers in the Chicago region.
June 19, 2019
Non-control Capital Offers Liquidity Option For Family-Held Companies
Many family-held businesses don't realize there are minority investors out there, says Nicholas Stone, managing director at Cyprium Partners.
June 18, 2019
Crate and Barrel Buys Hudson Grace
Founded in 2012 by veteran retailers Monelle Totah and Gary McNatton, Hudson Grace is known for modern tabletop and entertaining products evoking the coastal California lifestyle.
June 13, 2019
Accel Entertainment Bought By PE Firm TPG
TPG Pace Holdings Corp., the acquiring entity, will retain the Accel Entertainment name and will be a publicly listed company focusing on gaming-as-a-service.
June 13, 2019
Hickory Farms CEO Diane Pearse's keys to successful dealmaking
Hickory Farms CEO Diane Pearse talks about gaining dealmaking expertise and the best strategies to follow when your company is being targeted by potential buyers and/or investors.
June 12, 2019
Spring Labs Raises $23M in Series A Funding for Auto Loan Blockchain Work
The round was led by GreatPoint Ventures out of San Francisco with significant participation from existing investors, including August Capital, as well as GM Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Detroit’s General Motors.
June 10, 2019
Aptar acquires Nanopharm and Gateway Analytical
AptarGroup has acquired two pharmaceutical services companies for a combined value of approximately $50 million. The acquisitions are part of the Crystal Lake company’s strategy to broaden its portfolio of services.
June 7, 2019
Cars.com Keeps An Open Mind When It Comes To M&A
Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Gold talks about the company’s M&A strategy and some of the challenges that come up in the effort to get deals done.
June 7, 2019
John Paul DeJoria buys Former McDonald’s HQ Site
The entrepreneur will assume ownership of the 80-acre site that includes the McDonald’s former campus office building, Hamburger University training facility and The Hyatt Lodge.
June 4, 2019
Boeing HorizonX Ventures invests in drone servicer Robotic Skies
This deal builds on a previously announced collaboration with Robotic Skies, Boeing Global Services and its subsidiaries to provide enhanced commercial unmanned aircraft system services.
June 4, 2019
Revolution Enterprises Completes HempVet Acquisition
HempVet is a national brand in the pet product market with more than 35 years of product development experience and an online and national retail distribution footprint.
May 31, 2019
Dan Silberberg: Pick an M&A strategy and plan your exit
The founder at DIGINTEL taps his 45 years of experience of M&A experience to discuss M&A strategy and building a business architecture that's sellable.
May 29, 2019
PEAK6 Acquires Seattle-based Evil Geniuses
New acquisition maintains a roster of popular gaming titles including “Dota 2,” “Call of Duty,” “Rocket League,” “Fortnite” and “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.”
May 28, 2019
Chicago: The Food Industry Hub of America
Four of Chicago’s top food industry players will take center stage at the ASPIRE Dealmakers Conference on June 19th to take a deep dive into how the region’s F&B companies continue to attract capital, grow at lightning speed, and feast on the competition.
May 23, 2019
Phil Alexander: Give Potential Investors A Reason To Believe
The founder of ConceptDrop and Nexus A.I. talks about the role personality can play in making better connections with potential investors.
May 20, 2019
Snapsheet Closes $29M in Series E Funding
The round was led by Seattle-based Tola Capital with participation from new investors Nationwide and State Auto Labs in Columbus and Memphis-based Sedgwick.
May 19, 2019
Meet Chicago's Middle-Market M&A Experts
The ASPIRE Dealmakers Conference is headed to the Palmer House Hilton on June 19. This daylong event brings together hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and advisers to take part in dynamic panel discussions and one-on-one networking.
May 17, 2019
Signal's Marc Kiven: An entrepreneur's approach to dealmaking
The founder of the groundbreaking digital marketing company talks about what he looks for in an investment opportunity and how he sets the stage for the company’s future.
May 13, 2019
M&A Outlook: Steel Service Centers
Industry players are looking for acquisitive growth, targeting value-added processing as a way to enhance margin and better navigate demand volatility, investment bank Brown Gibbons Lang reports.
