May 2021

Access to some materials included in this newsletter may be limited to Red Forest Capital funds.

Happy May which is also Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, ALS Awareness, National Military Appreciation, National Mental Health Awareness, as well as National Hamburger, American Cheese, and Salad Month! In the meantime, please find a selection of resources below to support your efforts. Contact us if and when we can be of help.

INDUSTRY & ECONOMIC CURRENT EVENTS 

• Proposal to raise both marginal income tax and capital gains to 39.6% 

• Consumer Price Index up 2.6% YoY, the biggest one-month increase since 2012. Fed did not express immediate inflationary concerns

• Jobless claims totaled 576,000, the lowest level since the CV19

• In March, Retail up 9.8%. Clothing up 18%; Restaurants and bars up 13%

• Both the DOW and the S&P500 rose to new all-time highs

• HHS to Invest $250MM in CV19 Safety Among Underserved Populations

• IMF survey suggests that CV19 may lead to favorable opinions of progressive tax

• Household income up by a record 21.1% in March, as stimulus checks hit 

• Michigan's April consumer sentiment index at 86.5 from 84.9 in March

• US consumer sentiment in CV19 is cautious (see the presentation)

• Personal CPI for March is up 0.3% MoM and 1.8% YoY

• Chicagos’ April purchasing managers index up to 72.1 from 66.3 in March

INTERESTING

• Clone the Ace, written by a good friend of mine provides actionable steps to scalable digital marketing

• In FY2019, the DoD awarded $19B+ contracts to women-owned business

• Covid's Impact on Software Sales Efficiency

• APIs Aren’t Just for Tech Companies

• Will asynchronous replace real-time communication in the workplace?

• Considering Selling Your Business? Following is a Guide to Help Prepare

• Ballooning Valuations In Private Equity Deals

• Relocating employees cause interstate tax complications

• A visual look at the state of small business recovery in the US

• Delivery Hero chief says debate on gig worker status is missing riders’ viewpoint

• The European Investment Bank sold €100MM two-year bonds @ yield of -0.601% in an offering registered on the public ethereum blockchain network

LIGHTER FARE

• “True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.” - Robert Iger

• Amazon shareholder letters from 1997 to 2017, in one downloadable PDF

• A CTO’s guide to a modern tech stack

• Grata Seed Round to $9.5M

• Facebook tests Venmo-like QR codes for payments

• The joy of missing out

• Google launches an interactive top hobby trends 

• Is Soccer Wrong About Long Shots?

• Power to the Person, NFTs, and the Rise of the Solo Corporation 

• The organizational cost of insufficient sleep

• These US national parks require reservations this summer

M&A, PRIVATE EQUITY & INDUSTRY UPDATES

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE

• Cadence Acquires Pointwise, a CFD Meshing solution 

• Greenbriar Equity Group Acquires PCX Aerosystems

• TTEC acquires Avtex for $490MM

AGRICULTURE & FOOD

• Brewers Association revenue falls by 70% in 2020

• Food Safety & Quality Newsletter April 2021 from PerkinElmer

• PowerPollen’s tech could make bees’ lives easier  

• Strategies ag retailers can use to help their customers increase crop yield  

• Patagonia, Gucci, and Timberland are making a big bet on farming 

• How to save coffee from global warming  

• Cargill, Sysco invest $5m for sustainable grazing in the US South  

• Canopy Growth to Acquire The Supreme Cannabis Company

• Duravant To Acquire Foodmate, Provider of Poultry Processing Solutions

• GrubMarket Acquires Jana Food to Expand to Dallas

• Nutraceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, and distributor for $87MM

• Olam Food Ingredients to acquire Olde Thompson, maker of dry spices and seasonings

• Tribe 9 Foods acquires Carla's Pasta $26.3MM

AUTOMOTIVE

• Electric Vehicles & Future Mobility

• Without a clear EV strategy, Ferrari is hurting

• Aludyne acquired CastLight, manufacturer of electric car drivetrains and components

• Holley Acquires AEM Performance Electronics

• Parts Town Acquires Dayton Appliance Parts

• PDI Acquires Fuel Savings App GasBuddy

• PPG Acquires Automotive Coatings Manufacturer Cetelon

• Skyworks to Acquire Silicon Labs Infrastructure & Automotive Business

• Woven Planet (Toyota sub) to acquire Lyft’s self-driving car division

B2B 

• Butchershop Creative Acquires Maniak, A Digital Design Firm

• GQR has acquired untapt, an AI Human Capital Management solution

• Hotwire Acquires McDonald Butler, a Tech Communications Consultancy

• Jobcase Acquires Upward.net

• UPSTACK Acquires Technology Consulting Firm Cloudnexion

• Franklin Covey Company acquires Strive Talent for $20MM

• United Rentals Acquires Franklin Equipment

• United Rentals to Acquire General Finance Corporation

CONSUMER 

• The future of pet tech: Drivers, trends, and opportunities

• Amyris To Acquire EcoFabulous Clean Beauty Brand

• ByNext Acquires Madame Paulette, a Couture Cleaning Company

• GSM Outdoors Acquires Synergy Hunting and Archery Brands

• Hollander Sleep Products acquired SureFit Home, supplier of furniture covers, protection, and décor

• OUTWARD HOUND Acquires Comfy Dog & Cat Bed Company

• Signet Jewelers Acquires Rocksbox, the Jewelry Rental Platform

EDUCATION

• Investments in Private Preschools

• Recovering K-12 Education in 2021

• Carnegie Learning Acquires Zorbit’s Math Supplemental Software

• Edlio Acquires eChalk, Leading Provider of Accessible School Websites

• Full Measure acquired Adora Experiences, a digital college tour company

• Liaison International acquired Othot, a provider of advanced analytics for predictive modeling and prescriptive actions for colleges and universities

ENERGY

• Landmen Who Once Staked Claims for Oil and Gas Hunt Wind and Sun

• Arcline Acquires Electric Power Systems and North American Substation Services

• DPIS Builder Services Acquires Energy Business from Ensign

• Golden Gate Capital Acquires Waterfield Midstream

• Hull Street Energy to acquire the Waterbury Generation facility

• Whiteley Oliver Acquires Onshore Pipeline Services

• NextEra Energy Partners to acquire long-term contracted wind assets

• Southern Power acquires Glass Sands Wind Facility

• SS&C Offers to Acquire Mainstream Group

• Sunworks acquires Residential Solar Design and Install for $52MM

ENGINEERING & SCIENTIFIC SERVICES 

• Network Connex Acquires Advantage Engineers

• Unison Acquires PRICE Systems engineering decision support software

• Universal Engineering Sciences Acquires GEOServices

ENVIRONMENT & RELATED

• 2021 June 30 Waste Expo, Sustainability Conference, Las Vegas

• A new standard for measuring global sustainability

• Carimus Acquires JouleBug, Innovative Sustainability App

• Controlled Environment Systems Acquires Western Environmental

• CREF Acquires Green Seal Environmental

• Serverfarm Continues Sustainability Mission with Acquisition and Modernization of Los Angeles Data Center

• Terracon Acquires Sport Environmental Services

FINANCE & INSURANCE

• 2021 Financial Services Industry Outlook

• The US DOL released cybersecurity guidelines for financial companies

• Autonomous finance to improve retail banking customer experience

• Family Offices expecting 800+% SPAC returns

• Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Terrier Services and MT Investigations

• Avant Acquires Zero Financial

• Avalara Acquires DAVO Technologies to Automate SMB Sales Tax Compliance

• Axos Financial, Inc. to Acquire E*TRADE Advisor Services

• Beacon Pointe Acquires Another RIA - D.R. Saur Financial

• Capital Bank of Texas to Be Acquired by BAT Investments

• The Change Company Acquires Connect Escrow

• Creative Planning Acquires Castle Wealth Advisors

• Cox To Acquire Segra's Commercial Enterprise And Carrier Business

• Deluxe to Acquire First American Payment Systems

• Envestnet Acquires Harvest Savings & Wealth Technologies

• First Bancorp of Taylorville Acquire Mackinaw Valley Financial Services

• Enterprise Financial Services Corp to Acquire First Choice Bancorp

• The Hilb Group Acquires Clarus Benefits Group

• The Hilb Group Acquires Parallel Risk Advisors

• The Hilb Group Acquires STAR Insurance

• Hub International Acquires IBG Financial Partners

• Hub International Acquires Wessex Financial

• Hub International Acquires Wyoming Financial Insurance

• IMA Financial Group Acquires Bolton & Company

• Insurance Technologies Acquires IXN

• Insurity acquired Instec an insurance tech company that enables P&C carriers, MGAs, and MGUs to launch programs

• New York Community Bancorp To Acquire Flagstar Bancorp

• Nuvei acquires Mazooma, a micropayment solution company that caters to the digital space for $56MM

• Mastercard to Acquire Ekata, a Digital Identity Solution

• OneMain Acquires Trim, a Financial Wellness Fintech Company

• Primerica Announces Agreement to Acquire e-TeleQuote

• Sammons Financial Group Acquires Beacon Capital Management

• Security Service Insurance Acquires Pace Insurance Managers

• SmartFinancial acquires Sevier County Bank for $38MM

• Stone Point Capital to Acquire Ascensus, a Third Party Administrator 

• TechX Signs to Acquire Cryptobuddy Trading Signals Platform

• TriumphPay acquires HubTran Vision, a back office, document management, and payables automation company for $97MM

• Zywave Acquires Enquiron, Provider Of Risk Management Solutions

FRANCHISE

• Robin Autopilot acquired Mowbot, a robotic lawn care franchise

GOVERNMENT, CIVIC & SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

• isolved Acquires Givful, a Workplace Giving, and Volunteering Platform 

• Donation platform Txt2Give Acquired by LTV SaaS Fund

HEALTH CARE

• Changing consumer preferences towards health care services

• HCPF’s Telemedicine Report evaluates telemedicine during CV19

• New Hearing Aids, Apps and Tech Mean More Hearing-Loss Options

• VisibleHand created a Bluetooth ID band to measure the proximity between patients & staff to reduce sentinel events (suicide, self-harm, elopement, etc.)

• Arcline Acquires Polypeptide Therapeutic Solutions

• Always Compassionate Home Care acquired Wellness Home Care

• Avantor to Acquire Ritter GmbH, Provider of Discovery Workflows

• BioSpace Acquires MedReps

• BrightSpring Health Services Acquires Abode Healthcare

• Carlyle Group acquires Unchained Labs for $435MM

• Carlyle to Acquire Life Sciences Tools Company Unchained Labs

• Carrus Acquires Archetype Innovations

• CloudMD acquires Oncidium. a health service provider of disabled patients for $68MM

• Curi Acquires Practice Advisory Services provider, Arrowlytics

• DispatchHealth Acquires Mobile-Imaging Company

• DJO Acquires MedShape, Inc.

• Encompass Health to acquire Frontier Home Health and Hospice

• GIFTED Healthcare Acquires Therapia Staffing

• Health Logic Interactive Acquires Lab-On-Chip Diagnostic Technology

• Home Helpers Home Care Acquired by RiverGlade Capital

• Inotiv acquires HistoTox Labs

• Invitae to acquire Genosity an oncology testing company

• KKR to Acquire Therapy Brands

• MCI OneHealth Technologies acquires Khure Health, an advanced rare and specialty disease clinical intelligence platform for $10MM

• Mission Healthcare acquired Loma Linda University Medical Center Home Health Center

• Modernizing Medicine Acquires TRAKnet to Accelerate Innovation in Podiatry

• Molina Healthcare to Acquire Cigna’s Texas Medicaid Contracts

• The Option Group Acquires AgeWise Solutions

• Pfizer Acquires Amplyx Pharmaceuticals

• Precision LTC Pharmacy acquires Prime Care Pharmacy Services

• Probo Medical Acquires SonoDepot

• Relay Therapeutics acquires ZebiAI, a DNA encoded library platform for $85MM

• Therabody acquires PowerDot, provider of home-based health and wellness technology for $34MM

• Thermo Fisher Scientific to Acquire PPD, a Clinical Research Organization

• Todos Medical acquires Provista Diagnostics, developer of blood-based diagnostic tests for $7.5MM

• Trice Medical Acquires Tenex Health

• Unilever acquires Onnit Labs

• Validant Acquires Oriel STAT A MATRIX, a Training Firm for the Medical Device Industry

• Validant Acquires Greenleaf Health, an FDA Regulatory Consulting Firm

• Valeo Home Health Acquires Hearts for Hospice & Home Health

• Velocity Clinical Research acquired by GHO, a clinical trial site company

• Vocera to Acquire PatientSafe Solutions

HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL & TOURISM

• March 2021 daily average travelers up 9% YoY

• Alpine Investors Acquires Outdoor Recreation Software Leader Aspira

• Aramark to Acquire Next Level Hospitality

• Bally's To Acquire Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel And Casino

• Blue Water Development Acquires Jellystone Park Family Camp-Resort

• Entrust Acquires WorldReach, Digital Traveler and Citizen Identity Solution

INDUSTRIALS & MANUFACTURING

• ADDMAN Engineering Acquires 3rd Dimension Industrial 3D Printing

• Alliance Laundry Systems to Acquire Washburn Machinery

• Atos strengthens its digital manufacturing capabilities thanks to the acquisition of Processia

• ATS Automation Tooling Systems acquires BioDot, a manufacturer of automated low volume fluid dispensing systems for $84MM

• Blackwell Capital Group Acquires Custom Production Grinding

• Brooks to Acquire Precise Automation

• Endera Acquires School And Shuttle Bus OEM And Factory

• GWS Tool Group Acquires CJT Koolcarb and GenHam Diamond Tooling

• IDEX to Acquire Airtech, manufacturer of pressure technologies

• KCM-backed Industrial Service Group buys Georgia Western

• Kemin Industries Acquires Proteus Industries

• NOW acquires Flex Flow, a provider of H-pump solutions for fluid movement applications for $90MM

• Pye-Barker Fire Acquires Fire Protection Company, Gerry's Fire & Safety

• Resideo Acquires Norfolk Wire & Electronics

• Winsupply acquires Allegheny Pipe & Supply

LEGAL & RELATED

• Remote court proceedings are changing the justice system

MARKETING & ADVERTISING

• Digital ad spend up 12% in 2020 despite pandemic

• Personal Data & Privacy: The Marketer - Consumer Disconnect

• Amazon surpasses 10% of US digital ad market share

• Amsive acquired OverflowWorks, a data-driven marketing agency

• Bold Orange Company Acquires Three Deep Marketing

• Butchershop Creative Acquires Maniak, A Digital Design Firm

• Extreme Reach To Acquire Adstream, a Multichannel Platform

• Gregory FCA Acquires PR Firm Affect

• Material Acquires Global Design Agency Aruliden

• Near acquired UM, a mobile advertising platform

• Ragan Communications Acquires Communications Week

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• FTC requires media companies to remove tracking from children’s apps

• GoodRx acquires HealthiNation. an online media company providing health videos made by physicians and health experts for $75MM

• Intema acquires TheSMACKgg. a B2B and B2C provider of Esports-related products and services

• Orbis Technologies acquired InfoPros, one of the leading content developers

• Professional Sports Authenticator Acquires Genamint, Provider of NextGen Card Trading

• Songtradr Acquires Media & Music Data Platform Tunefind

• Songtradr Acquires Music Licensing Platform For Live Streamers, Pretzel

• Streamland Media to Acquire Sim Post-Production Business

• TicketManager Acquires Sports Systems to Make Live Events Easy

• TrillerNet acquired FITE, a Pay-Per-View, On-Demand streaming platform for sports

• Volley acquired VXN Games, a developer of phone-connected games

• Waud Capital acquires TeamSnap, an amateur sports platform

MINING

• Koch Agronomic Services Acquires Compass Minerals' Micronutrient Assets

REAL ESTATE & RELATED

• Last-mile eCommerce powers industrial real estate

• BMS CAT Acquires Mellon Certified Restoration

• Compass to Acquire Real Estate Transaction-Management Platform Glide

• Compusoft acquired First Degree Systems, a provider of software solutions for the window and door industry

• CoStar Group to Acquire Residential Listing Site Homes.com

• EX.CO Acquires Cedato a Video Technology Company

• Fathom Realty acquires LiveBy, a neighborhood discovery company that engages homebuyers through neighborhood matching and hyper-local content for $9MM

• HG Holdings Acquire National Consumer Title Insurance 

• Johnson Controls Agrees to Acquire Silent-Aire, A Hyperscale Data Center

• Larry H. Miller Real Estate Acquires Daybreak

• Lowe's Acquires STAINMASTER

• NearU Services Acquires Happy Home Services, a Customer Service provider to the Plumbing industry

• Overhead Door acquired Won-Door Corporation, provider of accordion fire and security doors 

• Spectrum Brands to Acquire Rejuvenate, a Household Cleaning Company

• StorageMart Acquires Storage Facility

RETAIL, TRADE & WHOLESALE

• The future of shopping: Technology everywhere

• The dos and don’ts of dynamic pricing in retail

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• Technology, media, and telecom industry outlook

• Calero-MDSL acquired MetaPort, a telecom network mapping software company

• Synopsys acquire MorethanIP, a provider of Ethernet Digital Controller

TECHNOLOGY

• Is It Time To Ditch the Old SaaS Metrics?

• SaaS Churn Rate Averages & Benchmarks

• The existing semi-conductor shortage with no easy fix for finite supplies The New York Department of Financial Services fined National Securities, a life and health insurance firm, $3M for four data breaches

• 3PL Central Acquires Skubana, am Inventory and Order Management platform 

• ABC Fitness Solutions Acquires Fitness BI, a Data Warehouse-as-a-Service Platform to Health Clubs

• Autodesk to Acquire Upchain to Accelerate Product Development

• Backstop Acquires Asset Management Software Provider Protrak

• BitTitan Acquires Perspectium, provider of IT Transformation Solutions

• Boxphish acquired Purplephish provider of cybersecurity training

• Cast & Crew Acquires LeBog Software, Cloud-Based Digital Purchase Order (DPO)

• Coalfire Acquires Neuralys, a Penatration Testing Platform

• Fathom Holdings Signs to Acquire Technology Platform LiveBy

• Eastman Kodak has acquired ECRM Incorporated’s computer-to-plate business for the graphic arts and publishing

• IBM to Acquire myInvenio to PROMOTE AI-powered Automation

• Infovista acquired Empirix, a network and testing company

• insightsoftware Acquires Izenda, Provider of Embedded Analytics

• insightsoftware Acquires Logi Analytics

• M-Files Acquires Hubshare, Provider of Content Sharing and Collaboration

• Nano Dimension acquired of DeepCube, a Machine Learning/Deep Learning technology focused on R&D

• Netsurit acquired Cyber City, a cloud services and cybersecurity managed service provider (MSP)

• Qualitest acquired Olenick & Associates, provider of software testing, project management, and DevOps 

• Siemens acquires TimeSeries to promote adoption of low-code

• Sidetrade acquires Amalto Technologies, a tech company that enables B2B electronic document exchange for $16MM

• Sikich to acquire Process Stream, provider of digital transformation services

• The Silico n Partners to acquire iXerv Americas, a SAP integrator

• SmartBear to acquire Bugsnag, an error monitoring platform  

• Tier1 Financial Solutions acquired Satuit, provider of asset management CRM software

• Xsolla Acquires Slemma, an Advanced Data Analytics and Visualization Company

• Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe to acquire Absorb Software

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• CUI Global acquires Gibson Technical Services, a cable system designer for $48MM

• Cox Communications to Acquire Segra’s Commercial Enterprise and Carrier Business

• Orbital Energy Group Acquires Teleco Company, Gibson Technical Services for $48MM

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS

• A&R Logistics Acquires Luckey Trucking

• Alinda Capital buys ACL Airshop, an equipment and logistics services company

• Central National Gottesman acquired California Supply North, a specialty packaging company

• FleetPride Acquires Steubenville Truck Center

• Forward Air Acquires J&P Hall Express, Expanding Regional LTL Door-to-Door Service

• Mid-sized shippers like Hyundai have increased giant vessel orders

• Packaging, a Consumer and Industrial Paper Packaging 

• Pilot Freight Services Acquires DSI Logistics

• ProAmpac Acquires El Dorado

• WhiteSource Acquires Diffend to Provide Software Supply Chain Security

VETERINARY 

• Patterson Veterinary Enters Agreement to Acquire Miller Vet Holdings

WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING

• Capstone Headwaters sees growing waste and recycling service arena

• How Wheelabrator became dominant n the transport of waste by rail

• 2021 June 30 Waste Expo, Sustainability Conference, Las Vegas

• Compost Contamination is a Pain Point for Operators

• EREF Launches Survey of Anaerobic Digestion Facilities

• WEBINAR. Managing Waste Fleets and Financial Strategy

• WEBINAR. AI and Data To Automate Recycling Facilities

• Aurora Capital acquires Curtis Bay Medical Waste

• American Trash Management acquires Washington equipment firm

• Circon Environmental acquires Bealine

• Circon acquires Water Integrated Treatment Systems

• DTG Recycle acquires Kleensweep's collection and recycling division

• GFL acquires Terrapure Environmental

• Green Energy Biofuel acquires ReSoil compost facility

• Meridian Waste acquires Trash or Treasure

• Wheelabrator acquires Tunnel Hill, rebrand as WIN Waste Innovations