Mergers & Acquisitions

Papa John’s: Irth Capital Launches $1.5 Billion Bid, Says Report

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 13, 2026

Qatari-backed investment firm Irth Capital has launched a $1.5 billion bid to acquire Papa John's International, offering $47 per share in a renewed effort to take the U.S. pizza chain private.

Esquire Financial: $348.4 Million All-Stock Acquisition Of Signature Bancorporation Expands Chicago Banking Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 13, 2026

Esquire Financial Holdings announced a definitive agreement to acquire Signature Bancorporation in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $348.4 million, marking a significant expansion into the Chicago commercial banking market. The merger will combine Esquire’s national litigation-focused banking platform with Signature’s established Midwest commercial banking franchise, creating a combined institution with roughly $4.8 billion in assets at closing.

Creative Planning: $660 Million Firm Duncan & Haley Joins

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 13, 2026

Creative Planning, one of the largest registered investment advisors (RIAs) in the United States, announced it has acquired Duncan & Haley, Ltd., an established RIA headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The transaction adds approximately $660 million in assets under management (AUM) to Creative Planning.

Sovra Acquires Edilex To Accelerate AI-Based Public Sector Contract Lifecycle Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 13, 2026

Sovra announced it has acquired Edilex, a Quebec-based legal technology company specializing in contract authoring automation for public sector procurement teams. The deal represents a major step in Sovra’s strategy to launch a next-generation, AI-powered contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform tailored specifically for government procurement across North America.

Anduril Industries To Acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions To Expand Space Domain Awareness Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Anduril Industries announced it has reached an agreement to acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions, a national security company focused on space domain awareness and missile defense, in a move aimed at accelerating the company’s capabilities in monitoring and defending assets in orbit.

BKF: Acquisition Of Lotus Water Expands Water Resources And Climate Resilience Engineering Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

BKF announced it has acquired Lotus Water, a water resources and climate resilience engineering firm, in a move designed to expand its capabilities in addressing complex water and infrastructure challenges.

GFiber And Stonepeak’s Astound To Combine To Create Independent Fiber Broadband Provider

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

GFiber and Stonepeak announced an agreement to combine GFiber with Astound Broadband, forming a new independent fiber internet provider that will expand high-speed broadband infrastructure across the United States.

Savills: $1.1 Billion Acquisition Of Eastdil Secured

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Savills announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the equity of Eastdil Secured, a global real estate investment bank, for an enterprise value of $1.1125 billion. The transaction is expected to close upon satisfaction of customary regulatory and closing conditions.

Shermco Industries: Electrical Testing And Engineering Firm Acquires Power Quality Engineering

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Shermco Industries announced it has acquired Power Quality Engineering (PQE), strengthening its engineering capabilities and expanding its presence in Central Texas while accelerating growth in the data center market. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MidOcean Energy To Acquire Additional Gorgon LNG Stake From JERA

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

MidOcean Energy, a liquefied natural gas company formed and managed by EIG, announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with JERA Co., Inc. to acquire JERA Gorgon Pty Ltd, which holds JERA’s 0.417% interest in the Gorgon LNG project in Australia.

Ondas: BIRD Aerosystems Acquisition Expands Airborne Missile Protection And ISR Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Ondas announced it has acquired Israel-based BIRD Aerosystems, a developer of airborne missile protection systems and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technologies used by military, government and homeland security organizations worldwide. The acquisition marks Ondas’ entry into the airborne and unmanned aerial systems missile protection market. The deal adds sensing, mitigation, and mission command-and-control technologies to the company’s defense platform, expanding its capabilities across counter-UAS operations, border protection, maritime surveillance, and airspace monitoring.

Sonida Senior Living: $1.8 Billion Merger With CNL Healthcare Properties

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Sonida Senior Living announced the completion of its previously announced $1.8 billion merger with CNL Healthcare Properties, a public non-traded real estate investment trust focused on senior housing assets. The transaction creates a combined $3.3 billion pure-play senior housing owner-operator and establishes Sonida as the eighth-largest owner of U.S. senior living assets by unit count.

Watershield Industries Acquired By HKW

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

HKW, a middle-market private equity firm focused on growth companies, announced the acquisition of Watershield Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of fire and rescue equipment serving municipal, wildland, and industrial customers across North America.

RBW Logistics: Acquisition Of Metrix Logistics Group Expands National 3PL Footprint

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

RBW Logistics, a third-party logistics provider specializing in warehousing, distribution, and integrated supply chain services, announced that it has acquired Metrix Logistics Group, LLC in a move designed to expand its national presence and strengthen its operational capabilities. The transaction extends RBW’s geographic footprint into the Texas market while enhancing the company’s ability to serve customers across multiple regions.

Hill & Smith: $36 Million Acquisition Of Freeberg Industrial Fabrication To Expand U.S. Engineered Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Hill & Smith PLC announced that it has agreed to acquire Freeberg Industrial Fabrication Corp. for an initial cash consideration of $36 million for 80% of the company’s equity, marking an expansion of the infrastructure solutions provider’s presence in the United States. The transaction, which is subject to U.S. regulatory approvals, also includes potential additional payments for the remaining 20% of the business depending on profitability through December 31, 2031, with earn-out consideration capped at $50 million.

Royal Bank Of Canada: Acquisition Of Mortgage Technology Platform Pinch Financial

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Royal Bank of Canada announced it has acquired Toronto-based Pinch Financial Incorporated, a fintech company offering mortgage qualification technology designed to streamline the home loan application process for Canadians.

Meta: AI Agent Social Network Moltbook Acquired To Bolster Superintelligence Labs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Meta Platforms has acquired Moltbook, a niche social networking platform built specifically for artificial intelligence agents, as the technology giant intensifies its push into advanced AI systems and talent, according to Reuters. The acquisition brings Moltbook’s co-founders, Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr, into Meta’s AI research division, known as Meta Superintelligence Labs. The unit is led by Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, and focuses on advancing next-generation AI capabilities and autonomous systems.

Carson Wealth: $245 Million Firm Furstenau Financial Joins As 41st Wholly Owned Office

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

Carson Group announced that Furstenau Financial has joined the firm as a wholly owned Carson Wealth office, expanding its presence in Nebraska and adding another advisory team from LPL Financial to its network. The move brings the number of wholly owned Carson Wealth offices to 41.

First Quantum Minerals: $340 Million Sale Of Çayeli Mine To Cengiz Insaat

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

First Quantum Minerals announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to sell the Çayeli mine in Türkiye to Cengiz Insaat, a company controlled by Cengiz Holding, for $340 million in cash.

Peak Rock Capital: Agreement For Affiliate To Sell Spatial Business Systems To Enverus

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 12, 2026

An affiliate of Peak Rock Capital has signed a definitive agreement to sell Spatial Business Systems (SBS), an intelligent design automation software provider for utilities and infrastructure, to Enverus, an energy data analytics platform backed by Blackstone.

EKHO Infrastructure Solutions: North American Operations Unified Under Integrated Brand

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

EKHO Infrastructure Solutions announced that it has unified several previously independent operating companies across North America under a single integrated brand as part of a strategy to deliver coordinated infrastructure solutions for construction projects across the region.

95 Percent Group Acquires TouchMath To Expand Evidence-Based Math Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

95 Percent Group, an education publishing and technology company focused on evidence-based literacy instruction, announced it has agreed to acquire TouchMath, a provider of multisensory math programs designed to support students with learning differences.

Merit: $434 Million Firm Yeomans Consulting Group Onboarded

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

Merit Financial Advisors, a Georgia-based wealth management firm, announced that it has acquired Yeomans Consulting Group, Inc., a Marietta, Georgia-based wealth management firm with approximately $434 million in assets under management.

EchoStor Technologies Acquires Life Sciences IT Services Firm Pennant Networks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

EchoStor Technologies announced it has acquired Pennant Networks, a technology consulting firm focused on providing solutions and managed services to the life sciences sector. The deal strengthens EchoStor’s managed services capabilities and expands its presence in highly regulated industries where compliance, security, and specialized technical expertise are critical.

Google: Acquisition Of Cloud Security Platform Wiz Completed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

Google announced it has completed its acquisition of Wiz, a New York–based cloud and AI security platform, integrating the company into its Google Cloud division while keeping the Wiz brand and its multicloud approach intact. The move is aimed at strengthening security capabilities for organizations building and running applications across cloud environments and AI platforms.

Peak Utility Services Group To Be Acquired By Greenbelt Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

Greenbelt Capital Partners announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Peak Utility Services Group, a provider of critical utility infrastructure services, from ORIX Capital Partners, the private equity arm of ORIX Corporation USA. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Zendesk To Acquire Forethought To Expand Self-Improving AI Agents For Customer Service

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

Zendesk announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Forethought in a move designed to accelerate the development of autonomous AI agents within its customer service platform. The proposed acquisition is intended to strengthen Zendesk’s Resolution Platform by expanding AI capabilities that can resolve customer service issues across channels and service environments without human intervention.

SOCOTEC Acquires American Engineers Group To Expand Infrastructure Engineering Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

SOCOTEC announced it has acquired American Engineers Group (AEG), a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, marking the company’s entry into the Pennsylvania and Maryland markets. The deal adds nearly 60 professionals across four Mid-Atlantic offices and strengthens SOCOTEC’s growing infrastructure platform in the United States.

Alsco Uniforms Acquires Advanced Linen Service To Expand California Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

Alsco Uniforms announced it has acquired Advanced Linen, a uniform and linen provider serving California’s Bay Area, Central Valley, and Monterey Bay. The acquisition strengthens Alsco Uniforms’ presence across Northern and Central California while expanding service capabilities for regional customers.

LOGISTEC: Acquisition Of Logistics Park Dubuque Expands U.S. Inland Waterways Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 11, 2026

LOGISTEC, a North American marine terminal and logistics services provider, announced the acquisition of Logistics Park Dubuque (LPD) from Travero. The multi-purpose marine terminal is located in East Dubuque, Illinois along the Upper Mississippi River and strengthens LOGISTEC’s inland waterways network across the United States.