September 2020 #1

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

INDUSTRY UPDATES 

• The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.4% in August as costs rose on a range of items. The increase beat economists' expectations 

• US cost of living is rising faster than an inflation rate of 1.3% suggests as the cost of coronavirus-related consumer purchases is rising 

• US import prices are expected to rise 0.5% and industrial production is expected to rise 1% from July

• COVID-related e-commerce growth slows as store reopenings attract quarantine-fatigued customers

• Amazon wins FAA approval to deliver packages by drone

• Bank Merger Activity Picks Up After Spring Lull But Uncertainties Pose Risks

• FCC Study Supports Using 5 GHz Band for Drone Operations

• Ninety-Seven percent (97%) of leading cybersecurity firms have corporate data leaks and other incidents exposed on the dark web

• Gartner forecasts worldwide public Cloud revenue to growth of 17% in 2020

• Digital transformation in energy from McK

INDUSTRY IDEAS

• Banking as a Service

• Medical tourism providers like PlacidWay or Medical Tourism Insurance

• Remote and hybrid learning amid COVID-19

• Six Investing Trends Reshaping Power and Utilities Sector Despite COVID

M&A

B2B SERVICES

• BMC acquires Alderstone, a provider of ITSM adoption and modernization solutions

• Bunzl acquires MCR Safety and Abco Kovex

• Loffler acquired Reardon Office Equipment 

• Pye-Barker Fire & Safety acquires Florida Fire Safety and American Fire and Safety

• SRAX to acquire LD Micro, a leading data and event company serving the small and micro-cap space

• Wolters Kluwer acquires XCM Solutions, a cloud-based workflow solutions provider for professional tax and accounting firms 

CONSUMER 

• AUA Private Equity acquired Westminster Pet Products, a developer and marketer of pet treats, chews and supplies 

• BLST Operating Company acquired Bluestem Brands, a multibrand e-retailer 

• Lawson buys Partsmaster, supplier to the automotive aftermarket products applicable to the industry 

• Mohawk Group acquires Truweo, an online Health & Wellness Brand, for ~$16.4M

• OneWater Marine acquires Boatsforsale.com

EDUCATION 

• Adtalem acquired Walden University, an online healthcare education provider

• Colibri Group acquired HomeCEU, a provider of continuing education for healthcare professionals with a focus in therapy professions

ENERGY 

• AVEVA acquires OSIsoft Plant Information System Software developer 

• American Welding & Gas acquires Bestway Welding Supply, a producer and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases

• • Pelican Energy Partners acquires Baker Hughes, surface pressure control flow business

ENVIRONMENT & RELATED 

• Wynnchurch Capital acquires Labrie Environmental Group, manufacturer of refuse collection vehicles and related parts

• FINANCE & INSURANCE

• Chatham Asset Management acquires McClatchy

• Empower Retirement acquires MassMutual retirement plan business

• Novacap acquired Optiom, a specialty insurer and provider of vehicle replacement coverage

• PAG acquires Edelweiss Wealth Management

• Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired Insurance Technologies, a provider of sales and regulatory automation software to the insurance industry 

FOOD & BEVERAGE 

• BevCanna acquires Naturally Pure Therapy Products

• Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and Management acquire Tropical Smoothie Cafe

HEALTHCARE

• Bristol Hospice acquires Remita Health

• Bruker Corp acquires Canopy Bioscience, provider of high multiplex biomarker imaging for immunology, immuno-oncology and cell therapy

• CRH Medical Corporation acquires Coastal Carolina Sedation Associates

• CryoLife acquires Ascyrus Medical and its aortic arch remodeling device or stent

• Gilead Sciences acquired Immunomedics, a cancer-focused biotech, for ~ $21 billion

• Health Plus Management (HPM) acquired the Orthopaedic & Sports Associates of Long Island, a multi-disciplinary orthopedic practice

• Kohlberg & Company acquires PCI Pharma Services, provider supply chain capabilities for clinical trials services, manufacturing and packaging 

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquires xCella Biosciences and Taurus Biosciences

• Lodo Therapeutics acquires Hibiskus BioPharma

• Northwest Biotherapeutics acquired Flaskworks, a company that has developed a system to automate the manufacturing of cell therapy products

• Pace Analytical Services acquired Emerson Resources, a specialist in dosage form development and clinical trial material manufacturing 

• Peak Rock Capital acquires Paragon Healthcare

• Radiology Partners Signs acquires MEDNAX Radiology Solutions

• Rosen’s Diversified acquired Collagen Solutions, a developer of collagen, tissues, devices and components for regenerative medicine

• Trive Capital acquires Valor Healthcare, a primary care and mental health services provider 

• VERB Acquires SoloFire, a Healthcare sales enablement platform 

• Verisk acquires Franco Signor, provider of Medicare secondary payer compliance solutions for self-insured companies, insurers, and TPAs

INDUSTRIALS & MANUFACTURING 

• AMERGINT acquires Collins Aerospace’s space-based optics business following UTC-Raytheon merger

• Champlain Capital to Stewart-MacDonald Manufacturing, a maker of parts and accessories for building stringed instruments

• Compass Precision acquires Gray Manufacturing Technologies, a leading manufacturer of components for the space, aerospace, and defense

• SPX Corp. acquires ULC Robotics

LEGAL & RELATED

• Fastcase acquires Judicata, a California legal research solution provider widely recognized as an innovator

MEDIA & ADVERTISING

• Astute acquired Socialbakers a social media marketing company

• Episerver acquires Optimizely, provider of technology is to help companies develop and test personalize content to engage customers

• Red Ventures acquires CNET for $500 million

• Schneps Media acquires Dan’s Papers, the quirky New York east end paper

• Wilkes Journal-Patriot acquired by Paxton Media Group

RESOURCES & MINING

• Citizen Energy acquires Blue Mountain Midstream for $111M

• Nomad to acquire Valkyrie Royalty, which owns a royalty on Moss Gold mine in Arizona, for $7.6M

REAL ESTATE & RELATED

• Capital Square acquires Harbor View, a Florida age-restricted manufactured housing community

• Ironbridge acquires Great Northern Insulation, provider of insulation services in the residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors

• Service Champions acquires ASI Hastings, provider of residential HVAC and plumbing services in San Diego

RETAIL & ECOMMERCE

• Reliance Retail acquires Future Retail

TECHNOLOGY

• Addicting Games acquires Mope.io, a mobile gaming title with 72 million players

• Artemis Capital Partners acquires Tekscan, a leading manufacturer of flexible, ultra-thin sensors and systems

• ConvergeOne, acquired Altivon, a contact center solutions provider

• Hyland acquires Alfresco, a content services platform and solutions provider

• MCR acquires StayNTouch, a hotel property management software provider 

• MaxLinear acquires NanoSemi, a provider of tech to improve signal integrity and power efficiency in next-generation communication 

• ParkerGale acquires SMA Technologies, a provider of workload automation software

• Progress acquires Chef, IT department automation software provider

• SpotHero acquires Rover Parking

• Strategic Data Center acquires Reston Data Center for ~ $8.25 million

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• Bow River Capital acquires Modus, a provider of 5G infrastructure services

• Dialpad acquires Highfive, video conferencing service provider

• Xplornet acquires F6 Networks fiber network

TRANSPORTATION

• Facedrive acquires Steer, a specialized electric vehicle subscription businesses

• Omnitracs Expands acquires SmartDrive, a leader in video-based safety and transportation intelligence

TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT

• Hipgnosis Songs acquires Big Deal Music

• Natural Retreats acquires 360 Blue high-end vacation home rental resort on the Florida panhandle

• Mondee acquires Rocketrip To expand travel spending incentives

WASTE MANAGEMENT

• EC Waste acquired Republic Services of Puerto Rico, a waste management subsidiary of Republic Services

INTERESTING & FUN

• Small business study details necessity and challenges of digital transformation

• Standard Chartered completes first Blockchain transaction on Trade Platform Voltron

• Oil and gas primed for water tech innovation

• Evaluating a Technology Stack from MixedPanel

• Art Allen, arguably the founder of the Coast Guard’s Search and Rescue Search tech

• Tally’s Jason Brown on fintech’s first debt roboadvisor and an automated financial future

• Preserving Value after the Acquisition

• The owner of the MLS Real Salt Lake and the NWSL Utah Royals indicated plans to sell

• PODCAST. The next wave of e-commerce with Katrina Lake, CEO of Stitch Fix

• Perpetual Motion, a drone-enabled startup aims to sanitize big spaces indoors and outdoors

• Ever Wonder Why No One Returns Your Calls?

• The surprising traits of good remote leaders

• Restore Your Sense of Control — Despite the Pandemic

• Slack is gathering industry leaders at Slack Frontiers, a free virtual conference dedicated to digital transformation

• Drones to operate this winter to increase safety in the mountains

• US auto safety regulation system could better address emerging technologies

• The Gates Foundation released its annual World Health Organization Goalkeepers Report