Time to catch up on more New England tech news. This week, we’re tracking acquisitions by a division of Ticketmaster, new funding for a trio of local companies, and the latest on the makeover of Accomplice’s venture investing team. Read on for details.
Changing hands
—Ticketmaster-owned TicketWeb is buying Strobe Labs, a startup that provides marketing software and data analytics for event hosts and promoters. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Strobe was founded at Brown University and participated in the Techstars Boston startup accelerator program last year.
—Now flush with capital, Vets First Choice announced that it acquired two specialty pharmacy businesses, Roadrunner Pharmacy and Atlas Pharmaceuticals. (Technically, the deals were made through Vets’ parent company, Direct Vet Marketing, according to a press release.) The acquisitions follow a $223 million investment in Portland, ME-based Vets last month. The company makes software for veterinary clinics.
—Private equity firm Bridge Growth Partners has signed an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Hyannis, MA-based data management company BackOffice Associates, which was previously majority-owned by Goldman Sachs’s merchant banking business, according to a Bloomberg report. Bloomberg reported that Bridge Growth’s investment values BackOffice at around $300 million, citing two unnamed sources. Bridge Growth’s chairman is former EMC chief executive Joe Tucci.
Grabbing funds
—Quanterix secured an $8.5 million investment led by T. Rowe Price Associates, which is an extension of the Lexington, MA-based blood analysis company’s $46 million Series D funding round announced last year. The decade-old Quanterix provides software, devices, and services for life sciences customers.
—Boston-based Jebbit announced it received a $6.8 million investment, which the company is calling its Series A round. Jebbit provides mobile marketing software and consumer data analytics to companies and organizations, such as Cathay Pacific Airways, LifeLock, and the Houston Rockets.
—Westford, MA-based Anova Data closed on $1.4 million in equity, debt financing, and other securities, according to a filing with the SEC. The company provides analytics and security software for network operators. It was formed in 2015 through the merger of Movik Networks and Zettics.
Expanding teams
—Accomplice, an early-stage tech investment firm based in Cambridge, MA, announced it hired Cack Wilhelm as its newest partner. She is based in San Francisco, but her duties will include sitting on the boards of some of Accomplice’s Boston-area portfolio companies, according to a blog post. The hiring follows the departure of Accomplice partners Chris Lynch and Cort Johnson earlier this year, at which time it was reported that the venture firm was expanding its Bay Area staff.
