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- Climb's M&A Weekly: Dun & Bradstreet, Renovus, and Descartes all feature
Climb's M&A Weekly: Dun & Bradstreet, Renovus, and Descartes all feature
D&B sells to Clearlake and Renovus backs merger
Nick @ Climb
March 30, 2025
Welcome back to the Climb Advisors weekly newsletter with five deals from across the B2B tech landscape. Sentiment is strong in the M&A community, with many expecting 2025 to be a record year in terms of deal volume & aggregate value. Valuations are strong & buyers are eager to deploy capital.
Climb Advisors focuses on sell-side advisory for B2B Software and services companies generating $5m-$15m in revenue. We also advise on credit placements and non-dilutive capital solutions for companies of the same profile & in select cases engage in retained buy-side processes for quality buyers. We love to talk markets and connect dots - please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re a founder or investor looking to transact.
Renovus backs merger between Angeion and Case Works
Overview: Angeion Group, an end-to-end litigation support provider, has merged with Case Works, a provider of case data management solutions. Renovus Capital previously made majority investments into both firms and backed the merger. Case Works case data capabilities will be expanded once combined with Angeion’s technology and data-driven approach. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Renovus made investments into each company last year to orchestrate this merger. The fund announced in early February that Angeion had acquired Donlin Recano, a bankruptcy administration firm. This merger continues an active start to the year for Renovus and its portfolio companies. Angeion’s advanced legal technology will make Case Works operations more efficient.
PSG Equity makes investment in Protecht
Overview: PSG, a growth equity fund, has invested $280 million in Protecht, a provider of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions. Protecht uses AI to help firms navigate the ever-changing regulatory environment. Protecht is looking to use this investment to enhance its current offerings to clients. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Adam Marcus, Managing Director at PSG, says that 79% of global data is under policy regulations and 60% of companies need, but do not have, third party risk management. GRC tech continues to be a hot space for PE buyers for these exact reasons. Protecht will look to increase market share via product & growth marketing investments.
Descartes Systems acquires 3GTMS in an all cash deal
Overview: Descartes Systems has acquired 3GTMS (3G) for $115 million in an all cash deal. Descartes is a logistics business and 3G is a provider of transportation management solutions. These solutions combine modern cloud architecture, carrier networks, and automation covering the entire shipping lifecycle. Read more here.
Climb Comment: 3G was backed by Sumeru Equity Partners which originally acquired the firm in 2019. This recent acquisition cements Descartes’s place in the growing transportation management space. Descartes stock has tripled over the past five years on the back of revenue growth & inorganic expansion.
Clearlake Capital Group acquires Dun & Bradstreet
Overview: Clearlake Capital has acquired Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) in a deal valued at $7.7 billion with an equity value of $4.1 billion. Dun & Bradstreet is a provider of business data and analytics. D&B had been interested in a sale for a while now and gets the deal done at a per share value of $9.15. Read more here.
Climb Comment: There were reports months ago that Veritas Capital was going to buy D&B at a value of $12.25 and in that deal, D&B would change their structure and sell two of its business units to strategic buyers. The company’s share price plummeted to below $8 per share on the news and the deal never materialized. D&B finally got its sale and the $7.7 billion EV in the deal values D&B at ~9x EBITDA.
Agilitas acquires the tech services business of Tietoevry
Overview: Agilitas Private Equity is backing the buyout of the tech services division of Tietoevry, an IT services provider in the Nordics. The new business was bought for €300 million and will operate as a standalone business once the buyout is completed. The tech services division of Tietoevry provides services, cloud, data, applications and infrastructure in the Nordics. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Tietoevry announced a strategic review of its tech services business in November 2022. The revenue of the business was $1.7 billion in 2024 and Agilitas hopes to grow that number as a standalone business. Agilitas has a fairly concentrated portfolio of 16 companies before this acquisition, showing the confidence management has in Tietoevry.
Article of the week
Fun read on Duke University’s unofficial venture program Duke Capital Partners (DCP). DCP just celebrated a tenth anniversary and has backed more than 60 alumni-related startups including Otter.ai and Vestwell. Alumni-backed and regional venture hubs play such a crucial role in developing startup ecosystems - great to see capital being put to work in the Research Triangle.
Thanks for following along & hope you found something useful or interesting. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re considering a sale this year - we’re always glad to chat & share perspective.
All the best,
Nick