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August 13, 2019
Apervita Buys Boston-Based Qcentive
By Mark Scott
The combined Apervita and Qcentive entity will operate under the Apervita brand with offices in Chicago and Boston.
Local Deals Chicago
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.
