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Big MarTech move: Ziff Davis completed two acquisitions in Q3 2025 — Semantic Labs (MarTech / performance growth) and Etrality (connectivity solutions). Why the Semantic Labs deal is the marquee one for marketers: They specialize in performance-driven growth for SaaS, with a track record of generating over USD 250M in client revenue The acquisition strengthens Ziff Davis’ capabilities in ad ops, SaaS growth marketing, client ROI focus This is a sign of broader MtTech consolidation firms with domain expertise are being absorbed to strengthen portfolio offerings What do you think this signals for agency / tech acquisitions in the next 12 months? #MarTech #AcquisitionNews #ZiffDavis #SemanticLabs #GrowthMarketing #SaaS #MarketingStrategy Vivek Shah Steve Horowitz Nathaniel (Nate) Simmons

🔥The logic behind Thoma Bravo's acquisition of PROS Holdings announced this week. The acquisition of PROS Holdings by Thoma Bravo for approximately $1.4 billion is a significant move in the AI and enterprise software space. AI closest to the revenue has quicker and measurable results. This deal isn't just about a private equity firm buying a software company but a strategic move to build a unified platform for intelligent commerce. ⏹️What PROS Does: PROS is a leading provider of AI-powered SaaS solutions that optimize omnichannel shopping and selling experiences. Their software helps companies set smarter prices, manage complex sales configurations (CPQ), and manage revenue. They primarily serve the B2B sector, with strong roots in the airline and travel industries, but have expanded into manufacturing, distribution, and more. 🟩 How Customers Succeed: Customers like BASF and Cargolux use PROS's AI-powered solutions to streamline global pricing, accelerate quoting, and capture millions in new revenue. The value is in moving beyond manual processes and spreadsheets to a system that uses AI to deliver real-time pricing and offers. 🟥 How It Fits into Thoma Bravo's Portfolio: This acquisition is the latest step in Thoma Bravo's strategy to create an integrated ecosystem of software solutions. By adding PROS's AI-powered pricing and CPQ capabilities, Thoma Bravo can now connect it with other portfolio companies like Conga, which specializes in document and contract management. This integration allows them to offer a more complete, end-to-end solution for revenue operations and commercial workflows. 🧠 Strategic implications: - AI-powered pricing is no longer niche, it’s foundational. - Private equity sees long-term value in platforms that blend predictive analytics with real-time decisioning. - Going private may accelerate PROS’ roadmap across agentic intelligence and market expansion. This is a clear signal that the future of enterprise software is not in standalone solutions but in strategically integrated, AI-powered platforms. #AI #SaaS #MergersAndAcquisitions #BusinessStrategy #AIinCommerce #ThomaBravo #PROS I wish you the best team Jeff Cotten , Bill Russell , Colleen Langevin, Michael Wu PhD , Sarah Hoffman (Kocks) , John Bruno

🌐 Localzz: A Platform Built for Partnership The power of Localzz isn’t just what’s built — it’s what can be built on top of it. With a scalable grid of digital marketplaces, planned media platforms, and brand families, Localzz is positioned as a plug-in ecosystem for major technology, SaaS, and digital media players. We’re now evaluating strategic partnerships, mergers, and platform integrations that align with our mission: to create the definitive local-to-national information network. From listings to AI — the foundation is here. Now it’s about expanding the reach. #Localzz #StrategicPartnerships #DigitalEcosystem #Innovation #Growth

Our Partner and Head of France Mathieu Antonini recently spoke with Mergermarket to discuss our investment in SoftNext, a leading French software buy-and-build player. Together with the management team and founding shareholder Groupe Baelen we are committed to supporting SoftNext's strategy to scale through both organic growth via upselling and additional bolt-ons across Europe. "SoftNext stood out as an attractive target given its strong recurring revenue model...these are mission-critical software businesses with very low cost for customers. There is almost no churn, and that is, in a way, the beauty of software companies,” Mathieu told Mergermarket. We look forward to supporting management with operational expertise and by sourcing acquisitions to accelerate its next phase of growth. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eFHuBD4m

💡 Small Deals, Big Impact In today’s market, not all acquisitions are measured in billions. A new wave of micro-acquisitions (deals often between $50K and $500K) is reshaping how entrepreneurs and investors think about growth. Why are these lean, agile deals gaining so much traction? 👉 Lower barriers to entry 👉 Faster paths to new markets, customers, and revenue 👉 Flexible financing and reduced risk compared to large M&A But micro-acquisitions come with their own challenges - from sourcing the right opportunities to navigating hidden risks. 🔗 Read our latest article to explore how these small deals are creating outsized impact: https://lnkd.in/gypvkHMt

I’m proud to share another milestone for Monterail—acquisition of Lakeview Labs (Acquired by Monterail). This is our third strategic deal this year, following Untitled Kingdom (acquired by Monterail) and EL Passion. Lakeview Labs is a Chicago-based software agency with over a decade of experience in delivering native mobile and web solutions across various industries. With its strategic location in Chicago, we are now positioned to collaborate even more closely with our American partners. Three acquisitions in a single year underscore Monterail’s clear strategy: building specialized expertise, consolidating in key markets, and accelerating the delivery of value to our clients. Looking forward to the opportunities this creates for our clients, our team, and the future of product development.

We are proud to be featured in an exclusive article by L'AGEFI, which highlights Mains’ growing presence in France and our strategy of building integrated European software leaders 🚀 The article showcases our strong start since opening the Paris office and covers the two French cross-border acquisitions announced this week: the acquisition of Lyon-based Blueway Software by our German portfolio company SoftProject, and Lyon-based Activinnov by our Dutch portfolio company Zig. These strategic moves mark our portfolio companies’ entry into the French market and demonstrate Main’s ability to build strong cross-border groups. Our Managing Partner & CEO, Charly Zwemstra, explains: “In a B2B software market that remains fragmented, there is real potential to build solid, differentiated groups. We are helping entrepreneurs transform their business models by creating strong recurring revenues—driven in particular by the SaaS wave, which is far from over in markets such as France and the German-speaking countries.” Jonas Kruip, Co-Head France and Senior Investment Manager, adds: “Thanks to thorough preparation and deep sector expertise, we were able to immediately execute transactions in the French market. Combining a strong local presence with our international approach is what enables us to deliver value from day one.” Read the full article here (in French) 👉 https://lnkd.in/eqFRUURJ

This significant development in the world of Cloud CPQ which brings together two very different approaches to CPQ presents a real opportunity for a great unification of two CPQ powerhouse brands leveraging these alternative views on the world of CPQ!

If I was a Founder/CEO looking to raise in the next 6-18months, I'd be 100% focused on one thing to boost my chances of success...and the research proves it. I have just finished up this paper after spending the past few weeks looking at what factors determine successful fundraising for Founder/CEOs. 🤯 It's NOT PMF. It's GTMF - GoToMarketFit. Not surprisingly (to me) companies that can clearly define their GTM fit are ~30% more likely to raise, and also more likely to avoid total business failure. That is useless information if the execs don't know how to find their GTM-spot (pardon the pun). So I threw together a review of some GTM systems which are changing the landscape in this space. I recognize I have a bias, which is why I compared 5 top GTM systems to see if any stood out against the peer group. And yes, I included The Alpine System. Excuse the shameless plug, and you dont need to read the bits about Alpine, but this is a massive subject and the details are so easily missed when Founders are scaling up, or trying to. Top Tip: Drop the product obsession. Dive into the revenue obsession. Understand the revenue journey, craft it and engineer it for your business to grow, and maybe you too will have a 30% better chance of securing a successful raise. Or maybe you won't need to. Ever again. (dramatic cliff hanger - reader ponders the double meaning and clicks link to read)

Hyperscayle LLC recently worked with a growing manufacturing company facing a common challenge: after several acquisitions, every branch ran sales differently and there was no CRM to track sales activity, pipeline or invoices. With accelerating growth on the horizon, leadership knew something had to change. We helped by: ✔️ Implementing HubSpot CRM + Marketing Hub ✔️ Designing a unified, repeatable sales process across all locations ✔️ Training teams to use the system independently ✔️ Aligning processes with leadership’s strategic growth plans The result? ✅ Full visibility into leads, pipeline, and invoice status across the organization ✅ A scalable sales process ready for future acquisitions ✅ RevOps foundation the team owns and trusts Scaling through acquisitions? Predictable growth starts with predictable processes and systems.