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- Climb's M&A Weekly: Goldman Sachs, Peak Rock, and Gemspring all feature
Climb's M&A Weekly: Goldman Sachs, Peak Rock, and Gemspring all feature
Goldman Sachs Alternatives invests in trackunit and Peak Rock buys Tapco
Nick @ Climb
February 16, 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.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives makes an investment in Trackunit
Overview: Trackunit is a software and construction technology solutions provider for the construction industry. Trackunit uses its data lake to generate data-driven solutions like connecting equipment to the cloud and decreasing downtime on the construction site. The company serves equipment manufacturers, contractors, and customers all throughout the construction process. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Goldman Sachs Alternatives previously owned a majority stake in Trackunit from 2015 to 2021. In 2021, Goldman sold its stake to Hg, which is still the majority shareholder today. The year after Hg’s investment, Trackunit nearly doubled its revenues and followed it up with a near 20% increase in 2023 revenue. Hg reinvested in the business as part of the transaction. Terms were not disclosed but certainly a ‘sizable’ deal. As hardware gets cheaper & cloud connection costs come down look for increasing digitization across industrial & construction use cases.
Peak Rock Capital affiliate purchases Tapco
Overview: Tapco has been around since 1956 and specializes in making intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and traffic safety products. Some of these products include: wrong way detection systems, smart signs for speed limits and hazard warnings, and pedestrian crossing solutions. Peak Rock has been adding family-owned and operated businesses to its portfolio and has been vocal about trying to expand its presence in the traffic safety products space. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Founded 1956, the third generation of the founding family of Tapco owned the business up until this sale. Traffic control is attractive to PE for a variety of reasons, namely stable & scaled contracts with major state & federal agencies and regulatory & demographic tailwinds. Often these ATS/ITS companies are blending proprietary and commodity hardware with integrated software solutions and associated services.
Gemspring Capital makes investment in construction software company
Overview: Gemspring Capital has invested in Sitemetric, a company that provides jobsite security and safety solutions for the construction industry. Sitemetric’s software allows site owners to maintain security and safety standards and maximize productivity on the jobsite. The company operates across many different verticals of the construction industry and Gemspring’s investment will be used to accelerate product development. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Gemspring, a CT-based fund with $3.8B under management, continues an active start to the year. Terms were not disclosed here but the investment came via ‘Gemspring Growth Solutions I’, a fund dedicated to providing flexible, non-control capital solutions to middle market businesses - wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume there was a credit component to the deal alongside an equity check. Sitemetric sits at a good position intersecting compliance/risk & jobsite efficiency with tools such as access control and mass communications.
Valsoft acquires Softlinx
Overview: Valsoft, a company that invests in vertical market software, has bought Softlinx, a provider of cloud fax services, integration, and automation solutions. Softlinx’s platform gives customers a HIPAA-compliant system to send critical information with a focus on healthcare, finance, and government. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Valsoft continues their knack for finding value off the beaten track with the acquisition of Softlinx - a compliant cloud fax solution focusing on healthcare and enterprise. Softlinx serves customers including IBM, Porsche, & HSBC as well as a number of health systems. While traditional fax has mostly been replaced via e-mail and other comms tools, fax is still a more secure method to transmit sensitive information and is legally required in many HIPAA scenarios.
Agellus Capital continues its M&A activity in the IT services space
Overview: Agellus Capital has bought CompassMSP, a managed IT and cybersecurity company. This is Agellus’s second recent acquisition in this space, as the PE firm bought Blackpoint IT services in September of 2024. CompassMSP provides small and mid-sized enterprises with network monitoring, compliance, and cloud solutions, to name a few. This move will combine CompassMSP and Blackpoint and broaden both companies solutions and customer base. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Interesting play geographically, with CompassMSP focused on the Eastern US via offices in CT & FL, and Blackpoint serving mainly the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West. Combining great leadership and CompassMSP’s team of ~200 employees gives Agellus a strong platform to serve customers coast to coast — and likely integrate future tuck-in acquisitions.
Article of the week
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