May was no exception to a red-hot acquisition market in the D.C. tech arena.
Plenty of term sheets were signed last month – with more than $120 million in local startup funding – but on the exit side of investments, enterprise software firms led a big wave of local mergers and acquisitions.
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Here are some of the biggest D.C.-area acquisition deals from last month:
California cybersecurity software provider FireEye acquired McLean-based startup Verodin for $250 million. Verodin analyzes clients’ existing cybersecurity infrastructure for vulnerabilities and efficiency – essentially auditing its defense systems. It marks a potentially huge return for early investors: Verodin had raised about $33 million since launching, including a $21 million Series B round last June led by TenEleven Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. That came with a valuation of just over $100 million. Previous investors with a board seat include Blackstone, Rally Ventures and Crosslink Capital.
Cvent, a Tysons-based event technology provider, acquired wedding venue sourcing platform Wedding Spot. The move brings more than 12,000 venues and hotels onto Cvent's supplier network, which stands at about 260,000 locations. It's planning to offer an additional channel within its platform for property managers to attract wedding business. This deal follows the 2018 acquisitions of Social Tables, QuickMobile and Kapow, which combined added 5,000-plus new customers last year. Cvent plans to hire hundreds at its local HQ in 2019.
Booking Holdings, the owner of restaurant reservation platform OpenTable, agreed to acquire D.C.-based guest management platform Venga for undisclosed terms. Founded in 2010, the startup's software uses restaurants' point-of-sale systems to provide analysis on customer habits. OpenTable plans to integrate Venga's guest management capabilities into its flagship hospitality product, GuestCenter, which manages restaurant seating.
Sterling-based tech startup ParkMyCloud was acquired by Boston cloud management platform Turbonomic for undisclosed terms. In a statement, ParkMyCloud CEO Jay Chapel said the acquisition won’t change much for customers and that the well-funded Turbonomic will support his company’s team as it continues to build on the platform, which makes automated tools to reduce cloud-related spending. ParkMyCloud has raised $2.25 million in funding since launching in 2015, with an $8.8 million valuation in 2016, according to PitchBook data. It has six employees, who will all head over to Turbonomic as part of its ParkMyCloud business division.
Bethesda-based enterprise software company DMI is creeping into Silicon Valley after acquiring Santa Clara's Pragiti, an e-commerce services company that has a partnership with SAP Hybris, a leading content management platform, among others. The acquisition, terms of which weren't disclosed, gives DMI digital capabilities across other e-commerce platforms with technology Pragiti is more experienced with. More than 200 new employees from the U.S. and India — where DMI has grown three-fold in three years — will join DMI's 2,500-strong workforce.
Longtime local health tech firm Harris Computer Systems is expanding with the acquisition of New Jersey startup Uniphy Health Systems, a clinical communication and collaboration platform. Harris' healthcare division's clinical information software is used by hundreds of healthcare systems nationwide, and by adding the Uniphy communications platform, it's looking to bring care coordination and patient engagement in-house. That transition includes absorbing Uniphy's mobile and desktop apps, which reach over 90,000 clinicians. The move adds to Harris' acquisition last year of Iatric Systems, which specializes in health record integration technology.
Locally based Avenu Insights & Analytics, a records management contractor for government agencies, acquired Louisiana's The Windward Group and GRIDS Information Technologies. With the pair's software, document digitization and storage capabilities, Avenu is deepening its technical expertise for scanning, workflow and file sharing services operated by its Records Solutions division. The purchase is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Avenu. In 2018 it acquired the government solutions group of Conduent, following a string of similar consolidating acquisitions in prior years.
Centreville, Md.-based Corsica Technologies, an IT services provider, announced yesterday that it acquired Georgia cybersecurity firm EDTS Cyber and its sister company, IT services provider EDTS. Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal, which Corsica said would allow it to offer security monitoring, incident response and consulting services while expanding its footprint across the Southeast. Charles Johnson, founder and CEO of EDTS Cyber, will become president of Corsica’s cybersecurity division.
Australia's Acendre, a company heavily involved with talent management for the U.S. government, expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Maryland-based e-learning firm ICS Learning Group. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which will add ICS Learning's enterprise clients as well as the Air Force, Census Bureau, Justice Department, National Institute of Science and Technology, and General Services Administration.
Tyson's-based Naylor Association Solutions, a provider of association management software and tech services, has acquired Raleigh, N.C.-based TechMedia. TechMedia, founded in 2001, produces the Digital Summit marketing conferences, which combined draw upwards of 20,000 attendees to 20 events annually. The move will further expand Naylor's event portfolio, which now includes the management of 14 association-owned trade shows, 10 appointment-based events and 95 association meetings.
Herndon-based Serco is acquiring Alion Science and Technology’s Naval Systems business unit for $225 million. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2019 and would allow McLean-based Alion "to reinvest in our six core capability areas," Alion Chairman and CEO Steve Schorer said in a release, including AI, cyber solutions and electronic warfare. Alion’s Naval Systems division, which will retain its management team and staff as a new Serco business unit, employs 1,000 people and pins annual revenue at $336 million.
