Smart Business Magazine, July 2020

July 2020 Smart Business 23 DEALMAKERS Insider Deal activity slows in May BY MATT ROBERTS I n May deal activity slowed with 10 announced deals in Northeast Ohio As a comparison there were 25 announced deals in April and 16 announced deals in May 2019 It is not surprising that deal activity slowed as many sell side deal processes have paused due to coronavirus volatility While we are seeing signs of a thaw in paused activity it may take a few months before closed deals in the area get back to historical levels Deals that closed this month were mostly in industries that were not drastically affected by COVID 19 disruptions University Hospitals sold its Health Design Plus business to Premier to support Premiers Contigo Health initiative as it expands its product line in multiple markets with multiple employers Solon based Loan Protector Insurance Services was acquired by Proctor Financial Inc on behalf of its parent company Brown Brown Inc The move is intended to strengthen the collective position of both Loan Protector and Proctor Financial Brecksville based CrossCountry Mortgage acquired First Choice Loan Services Inc in a deal expected to enhance CrossCountrys strategic growth in several regions as well as its consumer direct loan products Cleveland based MAI Capital Management increases its footprint in New York City with the acquisition of Grisanti Capital Management Youngstown based Turning Technologies acquired Knowbly an eLearning company known for its SELECTED OHIO MERGERS ACQUISITIONS Closed Target Issuer Name Buyer Investor Name Seller Name Deal of the month goes to Squared Holdings acquisition of Youngstownbased Luva Bella Winery Marisa Sergi and Evan Schumann owners of Squared Holdings acquired the 15 year old wine products company from Sergis father Frank Sergi Luva makes wines for bulk distribution private label and retail channels and manufactures and distributes juices for both winemaking and other uses It is the largest winemaking operation in Ohio and one of the largest producers of juice on the East Coast Leveraging Sergis experience in the wine space with her company RedHead Wines as well as Schumanns manufacturing experience the couple hopes to take the business to the next level and build upon Sergis parents legacy DEAL OF THE MONTH Local companies in bold Source Pitchbook Copper Run Research May 28 Brown Wealth Management Stratos Wealth Enterprises May 28 Knowbly Turning Technologies Centre Lane Partners May 26 Splash Financial CMFG Ventures LLC Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures May 15 Grisanti Capital Management MAI Capital Management May 14 First Choice Loan Services CrossCountry Mortgage Radcliff Management LLC Berkshire Bank May 9 Luva Bella Winery Squared Holdings May 6 Seizmik Nivel Parts Manufacturing Co Bratenahl Capital Partners and Kelso Private Equity May 5 Chronic Care Management Undisclosed venture capital investors May 4 Loan Protector Insurance Services Brown Brown Inc May 4 Health Design Plus Premier University Hospitals May 27 GE Lighting Savant Systems Inc General Electric May 26 ActivStyle AdaptHealth Corp Deerfield Management The Riverside Co May 26 Uniti Fiber Everstream AMP Capital Partners For more information about the Association for Corporate Growth visit www acg org cleveland Matt Roberts is a vice president with and runs the Cleveland office for Copper Run Capital LLC Copper Run Capital is a middle market investment banking advisory firm For more information on Copper Run please visit www copperruncap com or email mroberts@ copperruncap com easy to use interactive authoring tool The deal is expected to help Turning deliver an improved interactive learning solution for new and existing clients Finally Beachwood based Stratos Wealth Enterprises announced a minority investment in San Diegobased Brown Wealth Management with the goal of driving growth in Southern California Announced Target Issuer Name Buyer Investor Name Seller Name