Every week, we share the week’s most significant business deals, and every year we like to reflect on all the activity that’s taken place. Last month, we listed the overall top mergers of 2020, but now we want to focus on the biggest (and finalized) B2B mergers and acquisitions.
None of these compare to Salesforce’s whopping agreement to purchase Slack for $27.7 billion, announced last December. However, they do represent significant powerhouses coming together and accelerating growth within their particular industries.
1. Clarivate Analytics Acquired CPA Global
In October, Clarivate Analytics gained intellectual property and technology management firm CPA Global. These two companies coming together formed a powerful Intellectual Property (IP) market leader. The new company will be valued at $15 billion.
“This is an exciting day for our company as we unite with CPA Global to offer our combined global customer base a more comprehensive suite of IP related products and services,” said Jerre Stead, Executive Chairman and CEO of Clarivate.
Clarivate’s outright acquisition of CPA grants the company market dominance with few serious competitors for managing and protecting brands, trademarks, and domain names. The deal also strengthens its existing stronghold on patent prosecution.
2. Roper Technologies Purchased Vertafore
In September, Roper Technologies acquired insurance software vendor Vertafore for $5.3 billion. Roper Technologies is a diversified industrial company that produces engineered products for global niche markets.
Roper is acquiring Vertafore from current owners, Bain Capital Private Equity and Vista Equity Partners. Vertafore serves more than 20,000 agencies and 1,00 insurance carriers. Roper expects Vertafore to contribute $590 million of revenue and $290 million of EBITDA in 2021.
3. Francisco Partners Management Gained LogMeIn
In August, LogMeIn, Inc., a leading provider of cloud services for the work-from-anywhere economy, gained a new owner. Francisco Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital purchased the company in a transaction valued at $4.3 billion.
LogMeIn has been a leader in remote work technologies since 2003, but its services and portfolio of solutions experienced a surge of demand this past year. However, the transaction was already in the works before COVID-19. The deal was announced in December 2019 and approved from LogMeIn stockholders on March 12, 2020.
4. J.P. Morgan Infrastructure Investments Group Acquired El Paso Electric Company
In July, J.P. Morgan Investments Group gained El Paso Electric Company and chose Kelly Tomblin as incoming Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Toblin has a three-decade career leading utilities companies in the United States and abroad. She has deep knowledge and expertise in utilities and renewable energy.
“Kelly Tomblin is one of the most dynamic and accomplished leaders in the energy industry and we are excited to appoint her as EPE’s incoming CEO,” said Frank Cassidy, incoming Chairman of the El Paso Electric Board of Directors. “We believe Kelly’s executive experience, proven track-record of improving safety and commitment to our vision of innovation make her the ideal leader for this important time in EPE’s history.”
5. Mitsubishi finalized Eneco Group Acquisition
Mitsubishi-led consortium finalized its acquisition of Dutch utility company Eneco in an all-cash deal valued at €4.1billion, beating off rival bids from Royal Dutch Shell and private equity firm KKR.
Mitsubishi will own 80% of the company, while Japanese utilities provider Chubu Electric Power will own the remaining 20% stake. Eneco is one of the largest suppliers of natural gas and electricity in the Netherlands, and it is owned by 44 Dutch municipalities.
As energy companies around the world are under pressure to shift toward cleaner and renewable energy, Eneco’s focus on low carbon energy projects and home energy services naturally aligns with their goals of creating new businesses specializing in clean energy transitions.
Adding Eneco will allow Mitsubishi to dip into the renewable energy space and build a stronger presence in the European market.
6. Insight Partners Purchased Veeam Software
Back in March, Insight Partners finalized its acquisition of the leader in backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management™, Veeam Software for about $5 billion.
“The future of cloud computing is hybrid – where data is created, stored, managed, and replicated across platforms and environments,” said Crawford Del Prete, President at IDC. “Veeam has consistently addressed the hard problems that customers have around next-generation data management. This is a significant transaction that provides the additional resources necessary for Veeam to address the needs of an increasingly diverse and complex customer landscape.”
7. Platinum Equity Bought Cision AB
In January, the private equity investment firm, Platinum Equity, acquired software and public relations/marketing communications service provider Cision at a 34% premium in an all cash deal valued at approximately $2.74 billion.
“Platinum looks forward to nurturing Cision’s core business, supporting and anticipating the diverse needs of the company’s customers, and driving new opportunities for innovation,” Platinum Equity partner Jacob Kotzubi commented. “As a private company, Cision will be able to make strategic investments for sustainable and profitable growth, while remaining agile and focused on operational excellence.”
Platinum Equity, which has over $19 billion in assets under management and a portfolio of around 40 operating companies around the world, ranked #31 on Forbes Largest Private Companies list in 2010 and #1 on the Los Angeles Business Journal list of LA’s Largest Private Companies.
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