Sent: Mon, 18 Sep 2023 01:56:52 +0000
To: [email protected]
Subject: Austin Weekly Deal Highlights – September 17, 2023
Austin Weekly Deal Highlights
September 17th, 2023
Good evening Austin! Your friendly, neighborhood, moonlighting journalist back again to bring you this week’s dose of weekly deal highlights! So let’s see, a handful of venture deals and a couple solid Series B’s this week for Austin, but the main attraction might be a couple hours up I-35. North Texas saw M&A activity hit nearly $2 billion this week, from deals including Avantax, Optimal Blue, and Learfield. Make sure to check out all the details below!
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Austin Financing Activity
- CertifID, a wire fraud protection company, raised a $20M Series B led by Arthur Ventures. The company has now raised approx. $36M to date.
- Chipletz, a fabless substrate startup that specializes in semiconductor packaging, raised a $23M Series B led by SKC Company. The company has raised approx. $32M to date.
- Verisoul, a decentralized platform intended to build trust between Web3 businesses and their communities, raised $3.8M Seed funding led by BITKRAFT Ventures.
- Mosie Baby, an at-home fertility solutions provider, raised $1M of venture funding from Everywhere Ventures, Magic Fund and The Council.
Other Texas Deal Activity
- Avantax (NASDAQ: AVTA), a Dallas-based provider of tax-focused wealth management services and software, entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Cetera Financial Group, via its financial sponsor Genstar Capital, for approximately $1.2B.The company has a market cap of approximately $940M.
- Optimal Blue, a Plano-based an online mortgage marketplace platform, was acquired by Constellation Software (TSE: CSU) for $700M. The company was previously acquired by Compass Analytics, Cannae Holdings and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $1.8B in 2021.
- Learfield, a Plano-based college sports-focused media rights and technology company, was acquired by Clearlake Capital Group, Charlesbank Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group for $150M.This was part of a recapitalization that had its debt reduced by more than $600M.
- Osteal Therapeutics, a Dallas-based developer of infection therapeutics, raised $22M of venture funding from undisclosed investors. The company has raised approx. $67M from investors including HM Capital, Johnson & Johnson, and Medvest Capital.
- Autonomix, a Houston-based medical device company for diseases involving the peripheral nervous system, filed to go public. The expected offering amount is $20M. Previously, the company raised $2.4M of venture funding from undisclosed investors
- Amperon, a Houston-based forecasting and analytics platform for the energy industry, raised a $7M Series A from Riverstone Holdings, Climate Capital and Ambush Capital. The company has raised approx. $21M to date.
Thank you!
