Sent: Thu, 17 Feb 2022 20:29:57 +0000
To: [email protected]
Subject: Houston Deal Highlights – Mid Q1 2022
Houston Deal Highlights
Mid Q1 2022
Alright Houston, your friendly moonlighting journalist is back in your inbox, checking-in on venture deal activity thus far in Q1. Just as I expected, we are coming off a strong 2021 with an excellent Q1 thus far. We are only halfway through the quarter, and we are nearing on half a billion in venture funding. For anyone that still hasn’t taken notice of the Houston startup scene, we will forgive you if you join the bandwagon now.
Venture Funding in Houston
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5 Biggest Deals of Q1 Thus Far
- Cart.com, based in Houston and Austin, an e-commerce as a service platform, announced a $240M venture and debt funding round, led by Legacy Knight Capital Partners. Cart.com has raised $383M to date with other investors including Citi Ventures, Bearing Ventures, and Oak HC/FT.
- Avelo Airlines, a Houston-based airline, announced a $42M Series B round, led by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value. Avelo has now raised $167M since beginning service in April 2021.
- Ecommerce Brands, a Houston-based e-commerce aggregator platform, raised a $40M round, including $10M in equity led by Bearing Ventures.
- MetOx, a manufacturer of high-temperature superconducting wire, raised $28M of Series A venture funding from Safar Partners and other undisclosed investors.
- Zeta Energy, a Houston-based battery manufacturer, announced a $23M Series A round, led by Moore Strategic Ventures. Zeta has raised $27.2M to date for their novel lithium sulfur battery technology.
M&A Activity in 2021
Admittedly, M&A is a little disappointing thus far in the quarter, with 7 deals, and all choosing not to disclose the purchase price. It’s hard to replicate the $438M we did last Q1, but I do have high expectations for the rest of the quarter, and the rest of the year for that matter. There are so many businesses in Houston that have built incredible companies with proven technology and product market fit, which are ripe for acquisition and other exit scenarios (i.e. IPO). Mark my words, we WILL see a healthy level of exit activity this year.
M&A Activity in Houston in Tech Sector
Notable M&A deals in 2022 Thus Far
- Altius, a Sugar Land-based business performance management solution, was acquired by Linq Analytics, a provider of software and services for adaptive customer data management and analytics, for an undisclosed amount.
- BigCommerce, the Austin-based retail Saas provider, acquired B2B Ninja, a Houston-based software company that facilitates the use of B2B e-commerce technology for vendors, for an undisclosed amount. BigCommerce went public in August of 2020 and has a market cap of $2.2B.
- Computex Technology Solutions, a Houston-based provider of aftermarket computer support and repair services , was acquired by CSAT Solutions, via its financial sponsor Lincolnshire Management, for an undisclosed amount.
- iland, a provider of cloud hosting services, was acquired by 11:11 Systems, via its financial sponsor Tiger Infrastructure Partners, for an undisclosed amount.
- Technical Toolboxes, a pipeline software provider, was acquired by HKW for an undisclosed amount.
Well there you have it, big things happening in H Town. I will be checking back in with you at the end of the quarter to bring you the comprehensive Q1 highlights. Until then, stay safe and Go Rockets!
