One of the largest mergers or acquisitions in the past year brought a new corporate citizen to southeastern Wisconsin and with it, billions of dollars in additional planned investment. Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Lilly paid $924.7 million, net of cash acquired, to acquire the entities that owned the 100,000-square-foot Nexus Pharmaceutical facility in Pleasant Prairie, according to securities filings. The price included $108.5 million for property and equipment and $816.5 million for goodwill, attributed to “the synergies between the manufacturing capabilities of the site and our products as well as the assembled workforce of the site.” The deal was announced in April. In December, Lilly announced plans for a $3 billion expansion in Pleasant Prairie to bolster injectable product manufacturing.
Other M&A deals during the year included recognizable names and a number of startups that garnered significant attention in recent years. Here is a sampling of some of the major deals covered by BizTimes in the past year:
- Stevens Point-based Sentry Insurance acquired The General from Madison-based American Family Insurance in a $1.7 billion deal.
- Milwaukee-based Klement’s Sausage Co. was acquired by Chicago-based Amylu Foods, a manufacturer of fully cooked chicken products, for an undisclosed price, from Houston-based Tall Tree Foods, which purchased Klement’s back in 2014.
- Milwaukee-based Bright Cellars, a wine subscription service that uses AI to make personalized recommendations to customers, was acquired by Los Angeles-based Full Glass Wine Co. for an undisclosed price.
- Milwaukee-based Rent College Pads, a software provider helping college students streamline their search for off-campus housing, was acquired by Denver-based StarRez, a Vista Equity
- Milwaukee-based Part Analytics, a company offering a cloud-based SaaS solution for procurement analytics of electronic components, was acquired by San Diego-based Altium, which is owned by Renesas Group.
- Milwaukee-based Healthfuse, a company providing revenue cycle vendor management services to hospitals and health systems, secured a strategic investment from New York-based private equity firm InTandem Capital Partners.
- Midwest Stairs & Iron Inc., a Milwaukee-based metal fabricator, was acquired by R&B Wagner Inc., a metal fabrication and architectural railing manufacturer also headquartered in Milwaukee.
- Milwaukee-based marketing agency Trefoil Group was acquired by Florida-based marketing firm
- Mequon-based Charter Manufacturing, a group of metals manufacturing businesses, acquired Ohio-based Niles Iron & Metal Company from Brown Gibbons Lang & Co.
- New York-based Aquarian Holdings acquired a majority stake in Milwaukee-based PACE Equity, a provider of funding for clean energy real estate development projects.
- Brookfield-based Kowal Investment Group was acquired by Kansas-based Creative Planning, one of the largest registered investment advisors in the nation.
- Gathering Place Brewing Co. in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood acquired craft brewery Sahale Ale Works in Grafton.
- Milwaukee-based Good City Brewing, founded in 2016, was sold to The Explorium Brewpub.
- Waukesha-based Legacy Bakehouse, a manufacturer of baked snack components including rye chips, pita chips and breadsticks, acquired Tennessee-based Mannon Specialty Foods, Inc. d. b.a. Classic Cookie.
- Waukesha-based MTL Holdings, the parent company of Waukesha-based Metal-Era was acquired by Arizona-based Carlisle Companies Inc. for $410 million in cash. MTL was previously owned by New York-based private equity firm GreyLion Partners.
- Prospero Staff Capital, a private equity fund co-led by Ted Kellner, founder of Milwaukee-based investment company Fiduciary Management, and Roadrunner CEO Chris Jamroz acquired a majority ownership interest in Downers Grove, Illinois-based Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. Roadrunner was previously based in Cudahy before moving in 2017.
- Bolingbrook, Illinois-based foodservice equipment and supplies distributor Zepole Supply Co. acquired Milwaukee-based foodservice dealer Fein Brothers.
- Glorioso’s Italian Market on East Brady Street in Milwaukee was sold to brothers Carmine and Domenico Presta of Valli Produce, a chain of grocery stores in the Chicago area. An affiliate of the Presta family paid $3 million for the Glorioso’s building.
- Brookfield-based Wolter Inc., a provider of material handling solutions, automation, overhead cranes, industrial dock and door services and power systems, received a “significant growth investment” from BBH Capital Partners, a private equity strategy of New York-based private investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Terms were not disclosed but the deal was for a minority stake in the company. Wolter, which has expanded significantly in recent years through acquisition, made four acquisitions in the past year, including Ohio-based Cincinnati Crane & Hoist, Georgia-based Dedicated Material Handling Solutions, Illinois-based Midway Industrial Equipment and Tennessee-based Certified Door & Dock Services.
- Milwaukee-based Trusted Fraternal Life merged with Minnesota-based Catholic United Financial in a deal that made it the sixth largest fraternal in the country. Trusted Fraternal was created by Catholic Financial Life to be the home for a family of fraternal organizations and brands. Trusted Fraternal also merged with Michigan-based Woman’s Life Insurance Society.
- The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music merged with the Milwaukee Children’s Choir.
- Milwaukee-based law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP merged with Los Angeles-based venture law firm O&A, P.C., enabling Michael Best to enter the California market.
- The stock of Hartland-based Fathom Digital Manufacturing was removed from the New York Stock Exchange after shareholders approved an offer by Chicago-based CORE Industrial Partners to take the firm private. CORE was the private equity firm that owned Fathom before it went public in 2021.
- Milwaukee-based Badger Mutual Insurance Co. and Madison-based Rural Mutual Insurance Co. finalized an affiliation agreement.
