Boss Insights - Tech M&A Round Up - 15th November 2019

Advanced Acquires CareWorks to Extend Health and Care Capabilities
Dublin, Ireland - 12th November 2019 - Advanced has acquired Dublin-based CareWorks, a provider of Cloud based case management software for health and social care organisations, used by over 50,000 care professionals and clinicians and more than three million citizens. The acquisition will boost Advanced’s drive to deliver integrated health and care solutions and support the goals set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to build integrated care systems by 2021. CareWorks is a fast-growing business with 60 employees and operates in the UK, Ireland and US, complementing Advanced’s presence in these locations. It has established relationships with government and public sector organisations in health and social care.. The organisation will integrate directly into Advanced’s health and care division, led by its managing director, Ric Thompson, who joined from Docman when the market-leading Cloud software provider was acquired by Advanced in July 2018. CareWorks is the first acquisition announced since Advanced received an investment from Funds advised by BC Partners, with Vista Equity Partners continuing as an investor. The investment, which closed last month, supports Advanced’s ambitious growth aspirations to become the number one provider of business software solutions in the UK, while expanding its global footprint.
https://www.oneadvanced.com/news-and-opinion/advanced-acquires-careworks-to-extend-health-and-care-capabilities/

OpenText to Acquire Carbonite, Inc. for a Reported $1.42 Billion
Waterloo, Ontario – 11th November 2019 - OpenText™ an Enterprise Information Management (EIM) company, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Carbonite, Inc, provider of cloud-based subscription data protection, backup, disaster recovery and end-point security to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers. Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText CEO & CTO, said: “Cloud platforms and secured, smart end-points are essential Information Management technologies as businesses transform into Industry 4.0. This acquisition will further strengthen OpenText as a leader in cloud platforms, complete end-point security and protection, and will open a new route to connect with customers, through Carbonite’s marquee SMB/prosumer channel and products. We are very excited about the opportunities that Carbonite will bring, and I look forward to welcoming our new customers, partners and employees to OpenText.”
https://www.opentext.com/about/press-releases?id=2F8EF8EACDAF43E28B709A80F229F863

Kainos Acquires Formulate, Bolsters its Presence in European Markets
London, UK – 11th November 2019 – Kainos, a UK-based provider of digital services and platforms, has announced it has acquired Formulate and the business of Implexa, focused on Adaptive Insights, a Workday company. These acquisitions further support Kainos’ investments in the UK and European markets and its partnership with Adaptive Insights. Formulate is a UK and European partner of Adaptive Insights. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Worcestershire in the UK, Formulate is one of three certified, UK-based Adaptive Insights Solution Providers.  Formulate supports Adaptive Insights customers in deploying the company’s software, building forecasting solutions within the software, and improving and refining forecasting solutions already in operation. Formulate combines both software and consulting capabilities and provides its services to more than 100 customers across the UK and Europe. Formulate will remain a separate business within the Workday practice at Kainos. Implexa is the only certified, German-based Adaptive Insights Solution Provider, and adds Hamburg-based consulting capabilities to Kainos’ existing Frankfurt presence. The Implexa team will expand Kainos’ geographical spread in northern Germany. https://www.kainos.com/kainos-deepens-expertise-in-adaptive-insights-business-planning-cloud

Metisentry Acquires Scholarvets
Silver Spring, Maryland - 11th November 2019 - Metisentry, LLC has officially announced the acquisition of ScholarVets. Based in Silver Spring, Maryland, ScholarVets works to connect military veterans with academic partner schools more efficiently. Through the use of their patent-pending web platform and mobile application, ScholarVets is arming veterans with a powerful communication channel. This, in turn, is increasing veteran graduation rates post-military service. “Our vision has always been one where our platform would help 100% of military-connected students graduate and obtain meaningful employment post-military service,” said John Lunardi, President of ScholarVets. “This acquisition will not only further our original vision but because of Metisentry’s strong ties to the military via MilitaryHire.com and Willco Technologies, will take ScholarVets to new heights.” The acquisition of ScholarVets is happening on the heels of Metisentry’s recent acquisition of MilitaryHire, which works to connect veterans with employers seeking their unique skills.
https://blog.metisentry.com/metisentry-acquires-scholarvets

Blackstone to Take Majority Stake in MagicLab, Owner of Bumble and Badoo, at $3 Billion Valuation
London, UK - 8th November 2019 - Blackstone has announced that funds managed by Blackstone are taking a majority stake in MagicLab, which builds and operates leading dating and social networking apps, including Bumble and Badoo. The transaction values the company at approximately $3 billion. Founded in 2006 by Andrey Andreev, MagicLab helped invent how people meet in the modern, mobile age. MagicLab’s suite of brands has connected and transformed the lives of over 500 million people around the world across dating, social, and business. The group shares a foundation of technology, talent and experience to constantly innovate new ways for people to meet and create life-changing moments by building relationships. Over his career, Mr. Andreev has been at the forefront of innovation in the dating industry and has continued to invest in finding the most talented entrepreneurs and tech visionaries to mentor. As part of the acquisition, Mr. Andreev will be selling his stake and stepping down from the business. He will be replaced as CEO by Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble, who, together with Blackstone, will work to accelerate the business’ growth even further.
https://www.blackstone.com/media/press-releases/article/blackstone-to-take-majority-stake-in-magiclab-owner-of-bumble-and-badoo-at-$3-billion-valuation

Fintech Company Zomaron Acquires DataCandy and Rebrands as Paystone to Become a North American Powerhouse in Customer Engagement Solutions
London, Ontario & Montreal, Quebec – 7th November 2019 - Zomaron, a Canadian fintech firm, and DataCandy, a Montreal-based software company, have joined forces and will rebrand as Paystone. As part of the acquisition, Paystone will retain the award-winning DataCandy gift card and loyalty platform and establish its Montreal office as the company’s second headquarters. Paystone is a market-leading provider of customer engagement solutions for North America, processing 50 million transactions annually. Tarique Al-Ansari, CEO of Paystone, said, “We brought these companies together because we wanted to disrupt the loyalty and payments industries. These acquisitions tie together complementary software solutions that will enable us to create proprietary products to further enhance Paystone’s value proposition and accelerate our ongoing growth efforts.” According to Al-Ansari, Paystone continues to actively research viable acquisition opportunities that will further support the company’s mission and end-goals. “We are committed to becoming a trailblazer in the payment and software sector, and this is just the beginning. Maintaining an acquisitive mindset is key for our product roadmap and growth strategies,” says Al-Ansari.
https://www.paystone.com/press/zomaron-acquires-datacandy-rebrands-as-paystone

SoftwareOne Acquires SAP Firm BNW Consulting
Stans, Switzerland - 5th November 2019 - SoftwareOne has acquired BNW Consulting in a move to boost the company’s SAP technology services capabilities around public cloud migrations, S/4 HANA transformation and support. In a statement, SoftwareOne CEO, Dieter Schlosser, said that BNW’s SAP technology specialists would significantly enhance SoftwareOne’s global SAP and technology services capability. Commenting further, he said, “Our new colleagues will service their customers in APAC and the U.S., and beyond, in close conjunction with the established Manila SAP Center of Excellence.” Switzerland-based SoftwareOne has been on an acquisition spree in 2019, acquiring a handful of companies to boost its services arm. More recent acquisitions include Comparex, a global IT service provider to create a software management powerhouse that spans the globe, and cloud transformation services company, RightCloud.
https://www.softwareone.com/

Opengate Capital Announces Acquisition of Majority Interest In CoreMedia AG
Los Angeles, California and Paris, France – 5th November 2019 – OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, has announced that it has acquired a majority interest in CoreMedia AG, a global Content Management and Digital Experience Platform, from Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and a consortium of private investors. The investment is the sixth in OpenGate’s recently closed, second institutional fund of approximately $585 million. CoreMedia, with over 160 employees, is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and has operations in the United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CoreMedia’s suite of offerings blend real-time product information with multimedia marketing content to deliver personalized product messaging across a variety of digital channels. Its solutions are used by companies to increase their digital presence, manage digital asset libraries and enhance their eCommerce platform. OpenGate’s investment will support the company’s efforts to further expand its value proposition, leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to automate repetitive tasks and help companies deliver personalized shopping experiences. The partnership will further drive international expansion and global brand awareness.
https://opengatecapital.com/ogc-news/opengate-capital-announces-acquisition-of-majority-interest-in-coremedia-ag/

Eastern Health Acquires IMS Peer Learning™ to Train Physicians
Toronto, Canada - 6th November 2019 - International Medical Solutions (IMS) and Eastern Health have signed an agreement to optimize peer learning for Medical Imaging, along with an option to deliver future peer learning programs to all of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The IMS Peer Learning™ platform uses IMS’ FDA-cleared imaging technology, which enables radiologists to engage in interactive, web-based assessments on any device using full fidelity DICOM images, making it a true plug-and-play integration. Eastern Health plans to use IMS Peer Learning to create unique peer-learning cases (PLCs) that can be shared anonymously for peer feedback and subsequent review, creating an authentic 360-degree experience. The standalone system is universally compatible, requires no applications or special maintenance, and is entirely on-premise, ensuring the data is secure.
https://imstsvc.com/eastern-health-to-use-ims-platform-for-360-degree-peer-to-peer-learning-experience/

Wipro Limited Acquires International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI)
Milford, Ohio – 5th November 2019 – International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI), a global digital engineering and manufacturing solutions company, announces that its acquisition by Wipro Limited an information technology, consulting and business process services company, completed in October. ITI is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) interoperability software services company. Through its key solutions for Model Based Enterprise (MBE), data interoperability and data migration, ITI provides the building blocks for Industry 4.0, to help build ‘next generation’ digital enterprises. Harmeet Chauhan, Senior Vice President, Industrial & Engineering Services, Wipro Limited, said: “As enterprises innovate and invest in ‘EngineeringNXT’, they are looking for ways to build a Digital Thread across design, engineering, and manufacturing. This acquisition complements Wipro’s core strengths in Industry 4.0 and allows us to offer end-to-end solutions in Digital Engineering and Manufacturing.”
https://www.wipro.com/ https://www.wipro.com/ https://www.wipro.com/

Access Acquires Attaché and goes Global
Basingstoke, UK - 4th November 2019 - UK-based leading provider of software to growing mid-market businesses, The Access Group, has announced the acquisition of Attaché, an Australian-based Financial Management and Payroll software supplier with over 30 years’ experience providing software to Australasian mid-market businesses. This is the first wholly overseas software business acquired by the Access Group and establishes its intent to take its Access Workspace solutions beyond its home market in the UK and onto the global stage. Access is one of the fastest growing UK-based tech business and has recently announced impressive results for the year ended 30th June 2019. Posting more than 40% growth in both revenues and EBITDA for this period, the company’s record of uninterrupted profitable growth now stands at eleven straight years.  Having already established a small foothold in the Asia-Pacific region through recent acquisitions, this was a logical next step for the business.
https://www.theaccessgroup.com/company/news/attache-acquisition/

Morningstar Announces Planned Acquisition of Financial Planning Software Provider
Sydney, Australia – 3rd November 2019 - Morningstar Australasia Pty Limited, an Australian subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and provider of independent investment research, has announced it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Australian adviser software firm, AdviserLogic . The transaction is expected to close by the end of November, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed. AdviserLogic's cloud-based, financial planning software serves independent financial advisers in Australia. The open architecture software platform delivers an end-to-end planning solution that encompasses best in class training and support. "Morningstar believes in the value of financial advice, and we share a common mission with advisers to empower investor success. We're excited to expand our ability to support advisers at a critical time for the industry by welcoming AdviserLogic into the Morningstar family," said Jamie Wickham , Managing Director of Morningstar Australasia. “Financial planning software is at the heart of the advice process. Combined with Morningstar's deep data, analytics and research, AdviserLogic's focus on user experience and advice workflow will enable us to elevate and differentiate our technology solutions for advisers—to support them in running an efficient and compliant practice; and deliver improved outcomes for their clients."
https://newsroom.morningstar.com/newsroom/news-archive/press-release-details/2019/Morningstar-Announces-Planned-Acquisition-of-Financial-Planning-Software-Provider-AdviserLogic/default.aspx

15 November 2019