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Published: May 17, 2019
Updated: May 17, 2019
M&A transaction volume involving Canadian technology businesses declined slightly during Q1-2019, with 81 closed or announced transactions during the quarter.
This brings the transaction count over the trailing four quarters to 301, down from 328 deals that were closed or announced during 2018. Macroeconomic factors such as rising debt levels, volatile equity markets, geopolitical uncertainty and slowing economic growth and world trade have likely had an impact on business performance as well as transaction completion.
Several forces are continuing to drive transaction interest and completion, however. The growth and attractiveness of specially developed business and financial management software to service niche industry verticals stands as a great example. These businesses garner a lot of attention due to their sticky revenue base, courtesy of the tailored approached of developers and industry expertise of sales people and account managers. Outlined below are five vertical market software deals from Q1-19.
| Target | Buyer | Date | Transaction Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| IntelliFarms LLC | Ag Growth International Inc. (TSX:AFN) | 03/05/2019 | Ag Growth International Inc. (TSX:AFN) acquired IntelliFarms LLC. IntelliFarms develops grain bin and yield management solutions which will be integrated into the products of Ag Growth International, a manufacturer of grain storage equipment. |
| Every Inc. | Wave Financial Inc. | 03/04/2019 | Wave Financial Inc. agreed to acquire Every Inc. Wave Financial, a provider of cloud-based small business specific software will integrate the features of Every Inc. into their product offering. Every, Inc. develops and markets software specific to the banking function of small businesses. |
| GGGolf Inc. | Valsoft Corp | 02/25/2019 | Valsoft Corp acquired GGGolf. Valsoft Corp is an investment firm who looks to acquire and grow niche-vertical market software businesses. GGGolf Inc. provides management assisting software for golf courses. |
| Virtual Claims Adjuster Inc. | JV Venture Partners Ltd. | 02/09/2019 | JV Venture Partners Ltd. acquired Virtual Claims Adjuster Inc. JV Venture Partners Ltd. is an investment firm focused on making minority and majority equity investments in software businesses. Virtual Claims Adjuster Inc. is a niche workflow software servicing the insurance industry. |
| Distillery Solutions, Inc. | Volaris Group Inc. | 01/25/2019 | Volaris Group Inc. completed the acquisition of Distillery Solutions, Inc. Volaris Group Inc., a subsidiary of Constellation Software (TSE:CSU) is a public investment firm looking to acquire and grow software businesses targeting niche verticals. Distillery Solutions, Inc. designs software targeting the craft beverage space. |