In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Datadog gained Sqreen, The Carlyle Group became the majority stakeholder in Beautycounter, and Diageo expanded its spirits-based RTD portfolio with Loyal 9 Cocktails.
Datadog purchases security company Sqreen
Datadog, Inc., the monitoring and security platform for cloud applications, announced the closing of its acquisition of SaaS-based security company Sqreen.
Founded in 2015, Sqreen’s security platform helps clients detect, block, and respond to application-level attacks. Its platform detects and traces attacks right to the line of code, allowing it to block suspicious activity and pinpoint the root cause faster.
According to Datadog CEO Olivier Pomel, the application layer is one of the most vulnerable and exploitable attack surfaces, and by combining Sqreen with Datadog, they will be able to close the gap between application developers and security teams, thereby providing customers with more robust application security.
The Carlyle Group acquires majority stake in Beautycounter
The Carlyle Group, the world’s second-largest private equity fund with approximately $246 billion in assets under management, announced on Tuesday it acquired a majority stake in Beautycounter for $1 billion.
Beautycounter brands itself as a seller of “clean” beauty products, with a “Never List” of over 1,800 potentially harmful ingredients the company doesn’t use in any products. The deal was made a day after Famille C Venture invested $9 million in Pai Skincare, a similar brand known for its clean vegan products.
The US lacks strong regulation of cosmetics through the FDA, leaving companies responsible for leading the movement towards safer products. The Ordinary pioneered this effort for affordable clean skincare products and has almost doubled its sales to around $460 million in 2020.
Carlyle’s acquisition of Beautycounter shows the growth potential in backing authentic and credible brands. Beautycounter relies on three sales channels: a peer-to-peer sales network of more than 65,000 independent consultants, DTC offerings through its website, and wholesale.
Diageo purchases Loyal 9 Cocktails
British beverage alcohol company Diageo plc has acquired Loyal 9 Cocktails from American whiskey and gin producer Sons of Liberty Spirits Company. The financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
Founded in 2019 in Rhode Island, U.S., Loyal 9 Cocktails is a spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) brand available in various flavors including Lemonade, Mixed Berry Lemonade, and Watermelon Lemonade.
Diageo said that the RTD sector has been boosted by the increase in consumption due to stay-at-home orders in the past year. The addition of Loyal 9 will help build and diversify their RTD offerings across price points and consumer segments.
Loyal 9 will join Diageo’s spirits-based RTD portfolio, which includes Crown Royal RTD Cocktails, Tanqueray Crafted Gin Cocktails, and Ketel One Botanical Vodka Spritz.
In Other News
Other notable events this week include:
- Dell Technologies announced that it is spinning off its 81% equity ownership interest in software maker VMware.
- Engineering & construction software maker Autodesk, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire product lifecycle management software company Upchain.
- Grupo Televisa S.A.B, better known mononymously as Televisa, one of the largest media companies in Latin America, has agreed to merge its content assets with Univision Communications, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S.
- Bally’s Corporation has agreed to acquire The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino from Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust specializing in casino properties.
- As part of a bid to expand its growing podcast business, independent media company Vox Media, Inc. announced that it is buying Cafe Studios, publisher of popular podcast, Stay Tuned With Preet, hosted by former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
- Microsoft Corporation announced that it is acquiring Nuance Communications for $19.7 billion in an all-cash deal.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, medical supply company Medline Industries is exploring a sale with a potential asking price of up to $30 billion.
- According to Bloomberg, Dell Technologies is evaluating options for its Boomi cloud business, including a possible sale.
