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2025 may be a good year for M&A, plus an exit from Quilvest and an acquisition from Renovus

Good morning, Hubsters! Rafael Canton here with the US edition of the Wire from the New York newsroom.

As we hit the middle point of the week, we have a couple of stories to talk about for the Wire. First, as you take a sip of your coffee this morning, we have a look into a donut and brew-related exit. Quilvest Capital Partners sold Metro Franchising to Beach Point Capital Management. The New York-based company is one of the largest franchisees in the Dunkin’ system and the largest in the New York City metro region.

Next is a dive into Renovus Capital Partners’ acquisition of class-action case management provider Angeion Group.

Then, we have an exclusive look at DC Advisory’s US Private Equity Mid-Market Monitor: H2 2024 & Outlook report. The report suggests 2025 may be a strong year for M&A.

Finally, we have a deal from this morning. Charterhouse Capital Partners portfolio company Two Circles has agreed to acquire Kore. The company is an engagement marketing software, sponsorship management and data intelligence provider for sports and entertainment and brands.

Domain expertise

In September, Quilvest Capital Partners sold Metro Franchising to Beach Point Capital Management. Metro is one of the largest franchisees in the Dunkin’ system and the largest in the New York City metro region according to a release. To learn more about the exit, I reached out to Quilvest managing director Jared Nagae.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire for more on this story.

Tech forward

Now, let’s shift from consumer and franchising to technology. Renovus Capital Partners recently acquired Angeion Group, which is a class-action case management provider. Founded in 2013, Angeion uses technology-based services, such as digitizing the distribution of settlements and using chatbots to answer queries from clients.

To learn more about the deal, I reached out to Renovus managing director Lee Minkoff about the deal and the firm’s future add-on strategy.

Premium subscribers to the Wire can learn more about the deal and Minkoff’s insights on how Renovus will grow Angeion.

Resurgence

The valuation gap between buyers and sellers will narrow further in 2025, “paving the way for a resurgence in M&A activity,” Bill Kohr, US CEO of DC Advisory, told PE Hub's Craig McGlashan.

The investment bank gave Craig an exclusive early look at its report, "US Private Equity Mid-Market Monitor: H2 2024 & Outlook," which will be published later today. 

Upgrade to the full version of the Wire to learn the investment bank’s forecast. 

Sports engagement

Charterhouse Capital Partners-backed Two Circles has agreed to acquire Kore, an engagement marketing software, sponsorship management and data intelligence provider for sports and entertainment and brands.

Premium subscribers to the Wire can learn more about the deal.

That’s a wrap for me today. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group.

Tomorrow, Craig McGlashan will be with you for the Europe edition of the Wire, and Michael Schoeck will bring you the US edition.

Cheers,

Rafael

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

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They said it

“The first thing we did was invest in people and systems to ensure the company had a strong infrastructure to support our growth plan. Upon doing this, we set out to identify add-on acquisitions that were highly complementary to our base business: well-run stores that were in contiguous markets. In this case, we focused on acquiring other Dunkins, though we did evaluate opportunities in other brands.”

— Jared Nagae, managing director, Quilvest Capital Partners on the firm’s growth strategy for Metro Franchising