Pulse 2.0

Raymond James To Acquire $46 Billion Firm Clark Capital Management

BlackRock AUM Tops $14 Trillion As Fourth-Quarter Rally Lifts Fees And Profit

AccessMule: Interview With Executive Leader Sergio Sousa About The Password Management Platform

Knightvest Capital Acquires Heritage Estates And Renames Community The Palmer

Triple Whale Acquires Anteater To Expand AI-Powered Commerce Intelligence

Yellow Wood’s Suave Brands And Elida Beauty Merge To Form Evermark

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:38 PM

Suave Brands Company and Elida Beauty have completed a merger to create Evermark, combining two Yellow Wood Partners portfolio companies into a single platform of legacy personal care brands spanning hair care, body care, skin care, and lip care. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Allworth Financial Acquires $500 Million AUM Firm Grunden Financial Advisory

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:35 PM

Allworth Financial has acquired Grunden Financial Advisory, a Denton, Texas-based wealth management firm with approximately $500 million in assets under management, as the national registered investment advisor continues its expansion across Texas. The transaction adds offices in Denton and Addison and brings a six-person team with multigenerational client relationships and longstanding ties to the North Texas market.

KEO World Fully Repays Up To $500 Million Hayfin Credit Facility, Paving Way For Maha Capital Merger Plan

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:35 PM

KEO World, a global B2B fintech focused on digital payments, embedded credit, and AI-driven supply chain finance, said it has fully repaid a secured loan facility of up to $500 million provided by Hayfin Capital Management in January 2022, completing the facility on its original four-year term. The company said the financing helped it scale Workeo™, its B2B supply chain financing platform, particularly in Mexico.

Tailwater Capital Expands Upstream Platform With Northern Delaware Basin Non-Operated Leasehold Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:34 PM

Tailwater Capital and its upstream investment platform, Tailwater E&P, have acquired a diversified, non-operated leasehold position in the northern Delaware Basin spanning Lea and Eddy counties in New Mexico.

Dam Secure: $4 Million Seed Funding Closed To Help Enterprises Secure AI-Generated Code At Scale

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:34 PM

Dam Secure, an AI security startup based in Sydney and San Francisco, has raised $4 million in seed funding to address the security risks posed by AI-generated code entering production environments. The round was led by Paladin Capital Group, a Washington, D.C.-based investor focused on cyber and AI.

Statusphere: $18 Million Series A Raised To Scale Micro-Influencer Programs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:33 PM

Statusphere has raised $18 million in a Series A financing led by Volition Capital as the company positions its AI-powered platform to help enterprise retailers and consumer brands turn micro-influencer marketing into a repeatable, brand-safe growth channel. The round brings Statusphere’s total funding to $27 million and included participation from HearstLab, 1984 Ventures, and How Women Invest.

Montage Partners Exits Advantco In Sale To Argano

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:32 PM

Montage Partners announced it has exited its investment in Advantco International, a Charlotte, North Carolina–based provider of enterprise integration software, following the company’s acquisition by Argano, LLC, a portfolio company of Trinity Hunt Partners.

Zeeco Acquires Devco Process Heaters To Expand Midstream Fired-Heater Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:30 PM

Zeeco, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based provider of combustion and environmental solutions, has acquired Devco Process Heaters, a fired-heater design and technology company, in a move aimed at expanding Zeeco’s footprint in the U.S. midstream oil and gas market.

Balena Secures Investment From LoneTree Capital To Scale Edge AI And IoT Fleet Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:30 PM

Balena, an IoT fleet management platform focused on deploying, managing, and scaling fleets of edge computing and AI devices, has secured a strategic growth investment from LoneTree Capital, a New York-based growth capital firm. The companies said the partnership will accelerate Balena’s product roadmap, with an emphasis on Edge AI workloads, expanded security capabilities, and features to meet evolving compliance requirements.

Jersey Coast Insurance Joins World Insurance Associates

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:29 PM

World Insurance Associates, a Top 50 insurance brokerage, has acquired the business of Jersey Coast Insurance, an insurance agency based in Margate City, New Jersey. The transaction closed on October 1, 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed.

LO3 Capital Backs FastTrack Staffing With Senior Debt For Owner-Operator Buyout

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:29 PM

LO3 Capital has made a senior debt investment in FastTrack Staffing, a temporary and temp-to-hire staffing provider headquartered in Ocala, Florida, to support the company’s acquisition by staffing industry veteran Randy Burkhart.

Mistplay To Acquire Mobivity’s Connected Rewards Platform To Expand Omnichannel Loyalty Gamification

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:28 PM

Mistplay has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mobivity Holdings Corp.’s Connected Rewards platform and related assets, a deal the companies say will broaden Mistplay’s LoyaltyPlay business and deepen its ability to help brands and app publishers tie mobile gameplay to real-world rewards.

BIOMAKERS Raises Additional $8 Million To Scale Global Precision Oncology Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:23 PM

BIOMAKERS, a San Francisco-headquartered precision medicine and oncology intelligence company, announced it has closed an additional $8 million in financing as it shifts from building diagnostics and data infrastructure to scaling an AI-native platform designed to support drug and diagnostic development, improve clinical trial execution, and expand access to precision oncology globally. Participants in the round include Labcorp Venture Fund, Oncology Ventures, Endurance28, Zentynel, Sonen Capital, Sky High Fund, and other strategic investors.

Highlander Partners Acquires Tapatío Hot Sauce From Saavedra Family

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:22 PM

Highlander Partners has acquired Tapatío, the No. 5 hot sauce brand in the U.S., buying the business from the Saavedra family in a deal that brings in additional equity and new financing partners while keeping the founding family involved post-closing.

Think Bioscience: $55 Million Raised For Developing Small-Molecule Drugs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:20 PM

Think Bioscience, a Boulder, Colorado-based biotechnology company developing small-molecule drugs against historically difficult targets, has raised $55 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing to advance its internal pipeline of first-in-class programs.

Formulary Financial: $4.6 Million Seed Funding Closed To Build AI-Native Fund Administration Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:19 PM

Formulary Financial has emerged from stealth with $4.6 million in seed funding to launch what it calls a full-service, AI-native fund administration business aimed at modernizing back-office operations for private market investors. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Acrew Capital, Company Ventures, Human Ventures, Serena Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and a group of strategic partners and industry executives.

Zipline: $600 Million Raised At $7.6 Billion Valuation For Drone Delivery Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:59 PM

Zipline announced it raised $600 million in a new funding round, valuing the drone delivery company at $7.6 billion, as investors ramp up bets on last-mile autonomous logistics. According to Bloomberg, the round included both new and existing backers, with Zipline naming Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global among participants.

Perimeter Solutions Acquires Econo Fence, Expanding Protection Platform In Southern California

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:04 PM

Perimeter Solutions Group (PSG), a Bertram Capital portfolio company building a national perimeter-protection platform, has acquired Southern California-based commercial and industrial fencing contractor Econo Fence, expanding PSG’s footprint in California. Terms were not disclosed.

CTSi, EXPANSIA, And JHNA Merge To Form Next-Generation Defense And Aerospace Technology Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:03 PM

John H. Northrop & Associates (JHNA), Coherent Technical Services (CTSi), and EXPANSIA Group (EXPANSIA) have merged to create a new national defense technology company backed by Falfurrias Management Partners, positioning the combined platform to support warfighters, operators, and program offices with digital engineering, full-spectrum modeling and simulation, and advanced fabrication capabilities.

GTCR Partners With Gary Swidler To Launch Ascent Sports Group Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:00 PM

GTCR has partnered with consumer technology executive Gary Swidler to launch Ascent Sports Group, a new platform aimed at consolidating and modernizing the fragmented technology ecosystem that supports youth and amateur sports.

ASGN To Buy Quinnox For $290 Million, Expanding Digital Engineering And Offshore Delivery

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:58 PM

ASGN has agreed to acquire digital solutions provider Quinnox in a $290 million all-cash deal, a move the IT services firm said will deepen its digital engineering capabilities and expand its offshore delivery footprint as it prepares to rebrand to Everforth in the first half of 2026.

Newsela Acquires Schoolytics To Unify Student Data Across Instruction, Assessment, And Interventions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:56 PM

Newsela has acquired Schoolytics, an analytics and AI platform used by K-12 districts to measure, monitor, and manage student data, as the company expands beyond content and assessment into deeper data and workflow tooling for educators. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Wonder Acquires Claim To Expand Restaurant Rewards And Drive Dine-In Traffic

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:34 PM

Grubhub’s parent company Wonder has acquired Claim, a restaurant rewards app that offers automatic cash-back incentives designed to drive dine-in and pickup traffic while giving restaurants new tools to attract and retain customers.

Alliant Power Acquires Capital Reman Exchange To Expand Heavy-Duty Engine Remanufacturing Offering

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:28 PM

Alliant Power has acquired Capital Reman Exchange, adding Class 8 diesel engine and component remanufacturing capabilities to its portfolio as it looks to deliver more end-to-end solutions for the heavy-duty aftermarket across North America. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Platinum Equity Acquires Experiential Marketing Firm Czarnowski Collective

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:18 PM

Platinum Equity has acquired Czarnowski Collective, an experiential marketing services firm known for designing and delivering live brand experiences across trade shows, corporate events, meetings, and conferences. The business was purchased from CEO Mark Nagle and the Nagle family, who have led Czarnowski through decades of expansion. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Merit Financial Advisors Acquires $259.6 Million Firm SSC Wealth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:10 PM

Merit Financial Advisors has acquired SSC Wealth LLC, the wealth management division of SSC CPAs + Advisors, adding roughly $259.6 million in assets under management and formalizing a long-term partnership to expand tax planning and advisory support for high-net-worth clients and business owners.

Bear Icebox Communications Acquires Boutique PR Firm Carson Stoga Communications

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:08 PM

Bear Icebox Communications (BICOM) has acquired Carson Stoga Communications, a boutique public relations and communications agency focused on brand reputation and crisis management, the companies said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

US LBM Acquires Arizona And Nevada’s XO Windows

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:08 PM

US LBM has acquired XO Windows, a regional supplier and installer of windows and doors serving residential and commercial builders across the Phoenix and Las Vegas-Henderson metro areas. The deal expands US LBM’s product depth and installation capabilities in two of the Southwest’s most active new-construction markets, while extending XO Windows’ reach through US LBM’s broader western footprint.

Bluestone Equity Partners Invests In Selkirk Sport To Fuel Product Innovation and Global Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:42 PM

Bluestone Equity Partners has made a strategic investment in Selkirk Sport, positioning the pickleball equipment and sportswear brand to accelerate product development, expand across omnichannel retail, and pursue targeted growth in Asia. The transaction represents Selkirk’s first external investment and marks Bluestone’s ninth deal from its inaugural $300 million fund, which closed in a single close in the first quarter of 2023.

Fortune Brands Extends $1.25 Billion Revolving Credit Facility, Pushing Maturity to 2031

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:41 PM

Fortune Brands Innovations announced it has extended its existing revolving credit agreement, reinforcing its liquidity position and maintaining access to flexible capital for general corporate purposes. The company announced that it executed the extension on January 16, 2026.