And data tracked by the National Venture Capital Association also show an uptick in M&A activity among businesses that have attracted venture investment. Most of those companies could be considered small businesses. The trade group counted 109 venture-backed M&A deals in the first quarter; most of them were in the information-technology sector.
One such IT firm that would get counted in the second quarter is the venture-backed ClickEquations Inc., which has about a dozen employees in Conshohocken. It was acquired by Channel Intelligence Inc., of Celebration, Fla., for an undisclosed amount.
Using the federal government's 500-employee threshold for small business, here are a few other deals that have been either announced or completed within the last month:
Philadelphia Gear Corp., of King of Prussia, was acquired in late May by the Timken Co., of Canton, Ohio, for $200 million. The privately held provider of gear drives has 220 employees and $85 million in annual revenue.
New Penn Financial L.L.C., a Plymouth Meeting mortgage lender with more than 400 employees, was bought in early June by New York-based Shellpoint Partners L.L.C. No terms were announced.
Multiband Corp., of Minneapolis, agreed June 16 to acquire WPCS International Inc., an Exton engineering and construction firm focused on the wireless industry, in a cash transaction valued at $22.3 million. WPCS has about $100 million in annual revenue and about 500 employees.
Turn on the sun
Maybe I'm noticing it more because it's summer, but there have been a lot of large solar-generation projects lately.
At the end of May, Siemens Energy Inc. said it had been hired by a New York investment company to build a solar farm in Eastampton, Burlington County. Scheduled for completion in September, the power plant would have a 3-megawatt peak.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals L.P. announced the completion of a 7,300 solar-panel installation on its Wilmington corporate campus June 17. That's a 1.7-megawatt peak project on building rooftops, the top of a parking garage, and a nearby field.
Finally, Snyder's-Lance Inc., the big pretzel and snack-food manufacturer, said work is done on its 3.5-megawatt solar farm across from its corporate headquarters in Hanover, Pa. With 15,092 solar panels for that project, I'm glad I didn't have to count them.
Contact Mike Armstrong
at 215-854-2980 or marmstrong@phillynews.com. Read his blog, "PhillyInc," at www.phillyinc.biz.
