Transactions

Transactions

Horizon By the Numbers

Trailing Ten Year Averages

$106M

Average Transaction Size

60%

Nine-Figure Deals

40%

Eight-Figure Deals

83%

Transaction Close Rate

100%

Referenceable Client Base

Consistent

Top-Quartile Valuation Multiples

Uscreen recapitalized by PSG Equity

Horizon Partners is thrilled to announce that our client Uscreen has secured a $150 million growth investment from PSG Equity. This transaction marks a pivotal moment for Uscreen as it continues to redefine how creators build and monetize video-first businesses.

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Stripe Acquires Horizon Partners Client Lemon Squeezy

Horizon Partners is pleased to announce that payments giant Stripe has acquired our client Lemon Squeezy. This transaction marks a significant milestone for Lemon Squeezy, aligning the company’s innovative solutions with Stripe’s extensive capabilities and market reach.

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Horizon Partners Advises CODA Intelligence On Acquisition by PDQ

Horizon Partners is thrilled to announce the successful acquisition of CODA Intelligence by PDQ, completed on April 9th, 2024. This strategic transaction, backed by the support of TA Associates and Berkshire Partners, represents a pivotal moment for both CODA Intelligence and PDQ.

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Horizon Advises Roon on Acquisition by Samsung-owned Harman International

Just after Thanksgiving 2023, Horizon’s client, Roon Labs, was acquired by HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The strategic match is ideal for both companies given HARMAN’s focus on connected technologies for automotive, consumer, and enterprise markets and Roon’s expertise in music management, discovery, and streaming for the industry’s highest end music enthusiasts.

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Horizon Advises Mobility Market Intelligence ('MMI') on Growth Investment by WestView Capital Partners

Earlier this month, Horizon’s client, Mobility Market Intelligence (“MMI”), completed a sizable growth transaction with WestView Capital Partners. In advance and in connection with the transaction, Horizon worked with MMI operationally and strategically throughout 2022 while designing a highly customized transaction process that delivered an ideal partner and result despite broader industry headwinds.

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Horizon Advises ThankView & EverTrue on Merger and Recapitalization by Rubicon Technology Partners

Earlier this year, Horizon’s clients, ThankView and EverTrue, completed a simultaneous merger and sizable majority recapitalization with Rubicon Technology Partners. Horizon worked with ThankView operationally for over a year prior to the recapitalization and designed a creative transaction process that brought the two businesses to market together, emblematic of Horizon’s unique, bespoke “artisanal M&A” model.

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Horizon Advises PDQ on Growth Investment by TA Associates

Earlier this year, one of Horizon’s clients, PDQ.com, completed an initial, sizable growth equity transaction with TA Associates. Following the initial deal, PDQ and TA completed the acquisition of SimpleMDM, positioning the combined business as an efficient, cross platform systems administration solution.

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Horizon Advises Spatial Networks on Majority Recapitalization

Last month, one of Horizon’s clients, Spatial Networks — creator of Fulcrum — closed an investment of $42.5 million, led by Kayne Partners and Kennet Partners. The funding will primarily be used to scale the company’s sales and marketing capabilities, accelerate its product development roadmap, and further expand the Fulcrum data collection platform into international markets. As part of the transaction, the company appointed Jim Grady CEO to oversee all aspects of the company’s strategy and execution globally.

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Horizon Advises Mathway on Acquisition by Chegg

Earlier this month (6/4/2020), one of Horizon’s clients, Mathway, was acquired in a nine-figure transaction by Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG). This acquisition marks an important milestone for the Mathway team as it prepares to dramatically scale its business and reach millions more students through its first-ever strategic partnership. The transaction comes at an ideal time, as online learning platforms have become increasingly important while the Covid-19 pandemic has kept students at home and outside of a formal classroom setting. For Chegg, Mathway is expected to bring additional subject coverage, languages, and international exposure, significantly expanding Chegg’s total addressable market. Please see the joint press release from Chegg and Mathway for more commentary on how they view the partnership.

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Silversmith Capital Invests in DistroKid to Continue Rapid Growth

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DistroKid, a leading provider of SaaS-based software that serves independent musicians and record labels, announced today that it has received a significant investment from Silversmith Capital Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm.


“My goal since founding DistroKid has been to build great things for musicians. We’ve experienced incredible growth, and are deeply honored to serve every musician who has chosen DistroKid to be a part of their journey”


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Horizon Advises DZone on Majority Recapitalization

Last Thursday (10/12/17), One of Horizon’s clients, DZone, Inc, received a majority private equity buyout and recapitalization from SFW Capital Partners. DZone operates DZone.com, the leading portal that reaches 15m enterprise developers annually and offers targeted, high-impact advertising solutions for tech marketers. The Company’s success with DZone.com spawned the development of AnswerHub, a proprietary SaaS platform that provides community solutions for enterprise developers at 100+ customers such as IBM, GE, and Microsoft.

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Horizon Advises Robots & Pencils on Merger and Recapitalization

Two weeks ago (1/12/17), one of Horizon’s clients, Calgary-based Robots and Pencils, received a majority private equity buyout and recapitalization from Next Sparc and merged with its portfolio company KINETiQ DIGITAL as part of the transaction. Robots and Pencils is a mobile strategy and development firm known for its top-ranking consumer apps, transformative enterprise solutions and world-first education platforms. Started in 2009, the company has created more than 250 apps used by over 77 million people worldwide, and in 2014 was named the 34th fastest growing technology company in North America by Deloitte for a five year growth rate of 4,971 per cent.

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Horizon Advises DaySmart on Majority Recapitalization

Last Friday (9/16/16), One of Horizon’s clients, DaySmart Software, received a majority private equity buyout and recapitalization from SFW Capital Partners. DaySmart Software is a leader in multiple segments of the SMB business management software market with over 4000 subscription customers across salons, pet grooming, and numerous other SMB personal care market segments. Its “hybrid” software is ideally suited for independent SMBs, offering the benefits of on-premise, cloud, and mobile platforms to provide an unparalleled business management solution.

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Horizon Advises XE on Acquisition

Last Thursday (7/2/15), XE, a Horizon client, was acquired by Euronet Worldwide. The transaction was the result of a M&A market exploration process conducted by Horizon. XE has established itself as the world’s leading provider of currency related data, fulfilling more than 2.9 billion annual requests. XE’s XE.com and x-rates.com websites draw more than 1.6 billion total page views from more than 200 million unique visitors per year, while its mobile app has achieved more than 35 million downloads and three billion rate requests since it was launched in 2009. These user statistics consistently rank XE in the top 500 global websites, comparable to leading brands such as Reuters, Samsung and the Wall Street Journal according to Alexa.com, an analytics website.

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Horizon Advises TreeHouse Interactive on Recapitalization

Three weeks ago (2/20/14), one of Horizon’s clients, Utah-based TreeHouse Interactive, received a majority private equity buyout and recapitalization from co-investors Kennet Partners and Joe Wang. Wang, who previously made his mark in the Utah high-tech community as president and CEO of local software powerhouse LANDesk Software, will lead the fast-growing PRM market leader as the new chairman and CEO. The company’s sole shareholders Craig Flynn and Erich Flynn will remain with the company and collaborate with Wang in leadership positions in development and sales.

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Horizon Advises Ookla on Acquisition

Last Monday (12/1/14), One of Horizon’s clients, Ookla, was acquired by Ziff Davis. Ookla is the market leader in broadband network testing. Through its flagship B2C service Speedtest.net and its B2B NetGauge service used by nearly every major ISP, Ookla has built a dominant market position. Speedtest.net has delivered nearly seven billion speed tests globally since 2006. Ziff Davis, a subsidiary of j2 Global, Inc., is a global digital media company specializing in the technology and gaming markets, reaching in-market buyers and influencers in both the consumer and business-to-business space. Ziff Davis sites, which feature trusted and comprehensive evaluations of the newest and hottest products, include PCMag.com, IGN.com, ExtremeTech.com, Geek.com and others.

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Horizon Advises Housing List on Acquisition

Last Friday (10/17/14), One of Horizon’s clients, Housing List, was acquired by LeadQual. Housing List has built the leading platform in alternative real estate digital media. Due to the post-recession adjustments in the real estate market, subprime homebuyers are looking beyond the traditional real estate market to alternatives such as rent-to-own, foreclosure, and for-sale-by-owner properties. The Housing List sites provide these consumers with free and paid access to rich content and valuable market data. A recipient of numerous Inc Magazine, Deloitte, and Business Times growth awards, LeadQual is a digital marketing agency providing internet marketing solutions resulting in increased ROI, lead conversion, customer satisfaction and sales force effectiveness.

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Horizon Advises Out of Milk on Acquisition

Today (6/20/14), One of Horizon’s clients, Capigami, operator of the Out of Milk mobile shopping and productivity app, was acquired by InfoScout. Out of Milk is a mobile app that allows consumers to build and collaborate on shopping lists as well as manage to-do lists. Users also receive location-based mobile coupons and other promotional offers. InfoScout’s real-time shopper insights make brands better marketers by providing the industry’s largest, richest and most actionable source of household purchase information across all retailers at the item-level.

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Horizon Advises GasBuddy and OpenStore on Acquisition

(3/1/13), One of Horizon’s clients, GasBuddy, along with its sister company OpenStore, was acquired by UCG portfolio company Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). GasBuddy is the undisputed leader in helping consumers find the best price for gasoline. The company’s mobile applications and websites are used by over 10 million motorists every month. Its proprietary, crowd-sourced data model enlists its millions of users as ‘gas price spotters,’ generating real-time price data on over 100,000 gas stations and convenience stores across the United States and Canada.

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Horizon Advises Alarm Clock Xtreme on Acquisition

Yesterday (1/29/13), one of Horizon’s clients, Alarm Clock Xtreme, was acquired by AVG, the leading provider of Internet and mobile security. Alarm Clock Xtreme will become part of AVG’s growing suite of market-leading mobile applications. Alarm Clock Xtreme, founded in 2010, is the most popular alarm clock application in the Android market with 2 million daily active users. Please let us know if you’d like to learn more about this transaction and the Horizon process.

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Horizon Advises Next Sparc on Sunstorm Interactive Acquisiton

Last Friday (9/14/12), Next Sparc, a tech-focused private equity firm, acquired a majority stake in Sunstorm Interactive, a leading developer of mobile games. Horizon advised Next Sparc on the transaction. Next Sparc will partner with Sunstorm management to accelerate the company’s growth in the mobile gaming market. The deal represents Horizon’s sixth transaction of 2012. Please let us know if you’d like to learn more about this deal or the Horizon process.

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Horizon Advises Ookla on Acquisition

Today (9/6/12), One of Horizon’s clients, Mobestream Media, operator of they Key Ring mobile loyalty app, was acquired by Gannett, owner of USA Today. Key Ring will become part of Gannett Digital Marketing Services and will operate as a stand-alone business. Key Ring is a mobile app that allows consumers to consolidate all of their loyalty and rewards cards and coupons into one spot. Via the app, consumers can access their digital coupons, digitize their loyalty cards, join new loyalty programs, manage their accounts online and share their cards and offers through their social networks and email. Users also receive location-based mobile coupons and other promotional offers.

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Horizon Advises BestNursingDegree.com on Acquisition

related websites – was acquired by Ad Venture Interactive (AVI). AVI is a full-service interactive marketing company encompassing five divisions: PlattForm Advertising, PlattForm Higher Ed, Beauty Schools Marketing Group, Transportation Marketing Group, and Vertical Marketing Group. It is backed by Arlington Capital. BestNursingDegree.com and its sister sites are devoted to postsecondary education with a focus on nursing and allied health. For more information on the transaction, please see Pattform Advertising’s (a division of AVI) press release on the acquisition.

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Horizon Advises Mitre Media on Two Financial Media Transactions

During the first half of 2012, Horizon advised Mitre Media on its acquisition of two leading investor education websites, Dividend.com and ETFdb.com.Dividend.com is the #1 source for dividend stock information online. ETFdb.com is the largest web-based resource focused exclusively on the fast-growing exchange­-traded fund (ETF) market.In addition to advising Mitre Media on the two transactions, Horizon has also invested in Mitre. For additional information on the transactions, please see iNovia Capital’s press release on the two transactions and its investment in Mitre Media.

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Horizon Advises Mitre Media on Two Financial Media Transactions

During the first half of 2012, Horizon advised Mitre Media on its acquisition of two leading investor education websites, Dividend.com and ETFdb.com.Dividend.com is the #1 source for dividend stock information online. ETFdb.com is the largest web-based resource focused exclusively on the fast-growing exchange­-traded fund (ETF) market.In addition to advising Mitre Media on the two transactions, Horizon has also invested in Mitre. For additional information on the transactions, please see iNovia Capital’s press release on the two transactions and its investment in Mitre Media.

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Horizon Closes Ookla Transaction

On Nov 25, one of Horizon’s clients, Ookla, operator of Speedtest.net, received a minority investment from AVG, the leader in anti-virus software. Ookla is the global technology leader in broadband Internet speed testing. As part of the transaction, Ookla and AVG entered into a strategic partnership agreement. Please let us know if you’d like to learn more about the transaction and the Horizon process.

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Horizon Closes Credit Loan Transaction

Last Wednesday (6/15/2011), one of Horizon’s clients, Credit Loan LLC, was officially acquired by a strategic buyer. Credit Loan is the developer of CreditLoan.com, one of the leading destinations on the Internet for financial consumers. Please let us know if you’d like to know more about our client’s motivations for the transaction or if you would like additional transaction process insights. Because Credit Loan’s buyer wishes to remain confidential, we will be unable to disclose information relating to the buyer. However, there is much we can disclose about the journey to transaction close. Congratulations to the Credit Loan team!

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Neutron Interactive Acquires EnticeLabs

Last Friday (10/01/2010), one of Horizon’s clients, Neutron Interactive, officially acquired EnticeLabs, the recruitment marketing technology company behind TalentSeekr™. It was a very interesting deal on a variety of fronts. Likely the most compelling aspect of the deal is that it closed roughly two weeks following Horizon’s initial contact with the acquired company, EnticeLabs. In contrast, most deals close many months after initial contact. It was also Neutron Interactive’s first acquisition. For insights from our client on the transaction, please see Neutron Interactive’s blog post on the deal.

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