Austin Weekly Deal Highlights for July 8th, 2018

From: “Mason Rathe” <[email protected]> on behalf of “Mason Rathe” <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, 08 July 2018 23:43
To: [email protected]
Subject: Austin Weekly Deal Highlights 7-8-18

Austin Weekly Deal Highlights for July 8th, 2018 by Mason Rathe

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It was a light week for news, and we both know that filling this newsletter with fluff isn’t my style, so I’ll keep it brief and let you get back to enjoying your weekend. O and it looks like Dell is going public…again…kinda… Ladies and gentlemen, here are your Austin Weekly Deal Highlights.

Austin Financing News

• TenantCloud, the property management platform, raised a $3M equity round from undisclosed investors, which puts TenantCloud’s total fundings to nearly $5M since its 2014 launch.

Austin M&A Activity

• Rugged tablet maker Xplore Technologies (NAS: XPLR) is being acquired by Zebra Technologies — a company that makes handheld scanners, printers and other portable hardware— for approximately $90M, a premium on the company’s current market cap of about $65M. Xplore IPO’d in 2012, after raising approximately $45M in venture funding.
• Packet Design, a developer of internet protocol network route analytics software, has been acquired by Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) for an undisclosed sum. The company previously was acquired by BDS Capital, Lone Rock Technology Group and S3 Ventures for $14M in 2013, according to Pitchbook.
• Austin-based Mood Media has acquired Focus4Media, a branding firm out of Alabama that creates sensory experiences. Terms were not disclosed.

Other Relevant Deal Activity

• Dell is returning to the public markets, five years after going private in a $25B transaction backed by Silver Lake. It’s a complex transaction that involves Dell and Silver Lake offering cash or shares to holders of its VMware tracking stock, valued at $21.7B, with financing coming via an $11B special dividend being issued by the listed Dell subsidiary. The tracking stock was created to help Dell finance its $67B purchase of data storage company EMC in 2016. The move will put Dell back into the public sphere in a sense, even though Dell will remain a private company. It will trade as DVMT

Austin People

• The Top Austin Tech and Startup Hires and Departures in June 2018.

Austin News

• Austin Startup Funding, Acquisitions and Venture Capital Activity June 2018
• Texas is the No. 1 state to start a business in.
• Austin is No. 1 for Travel Tech Jobs.
• JUMP Launches Pedal-Assist Electric Bicycles in Austin Via Uber App.
• Investment manager PIMCO puts Austin office in iconic downtown tower, Frost Bank Tower.

Upcoming Events

• July 10th, Intro to Fundraising in Texas & Ask Me Anything with Capital Factory’s Joshua Baer, LiveOak Venture Partners’ Krishna Srinivasan, and Silverton Partners’ Morgan Flager.
• July 11th, You’re graduating from an early stage accelerator; what’s next? Panel event.
• July 11th, StartupGrind Austin Summer Party.
• July 18th, Founder Institute Graduation.
• July 19th, Austin Mosaic Awards, spotlighting diversity and inclusion efforts in Austin tech companies.
• July 26th, Austin Inno’s Coolest Companies Fest.