Lester Group acquires Williamsburg building supply company
The Lester Group, a Martinsville-based company with a diverse portfolio including lumber products and real estate development, acquired Williamsburg-based Custom Builder Supply on June 3, the company announced earlier in June. Lester Group CEO Jay Dickens declined to release financial terms of the deal. Randy Cooper founded Custom Builder Supply in 1988 and worked there […]
Dollar Tree to acquire 99 Cents Only stores
Chesapeake-based Fortune 500 discount retailer Dollar Tree has acquired 170 leases of another discount retailer, 99 Cents Only, the company announced Wednesday. The stores are across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. In April, Commerce, California-based 99 Cents Only filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and initiated a process to sell its assets, including inventory, owned […]
Chesterfield fintech Paymerang to be acquired for $475M
Chesterfield County-based payment and invoice automation company Paymerang has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Atlanta-based corporate payments processor Corpay for $475 million, according to an SEC filing by Corpay and a news release. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of the year, subject to regulatory approval and standard […]
Sterling drone-jamming firm to be acquired by Taser maker Axon
Dedrone, a Sterling-based maker of drone-jamming and detection devices, has reached an agreement to be acquired by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taser manufacturer Axon Enterprise. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, the companies announced Monday, and terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dedrone’s portable gunlike jammers can thwart aerial drones […]
Intelsat to be acquired by SES for $3.1B
McLean-based satellite services provider Intelsat announced Tuesday that it has made a deal to be acquired by SES, a Luxembourg-based competitor, for $3.1 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2025, depending on regulatory clearances and other factors, according to a news release. Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras will […]
VCU revives Atlanta’s Creative Circus ad school
Editor’s note: The print version of this story in the May 2024 issue of Virginia Business incorrectly reported the amount of Virginia Commonwealth University’s purchase of the Creative Circus. VCU acquired Creative Circus’ branding and intellectual assets from Texas-based Ancora Education for $75,000. The potential bottom line wasn’t the sole motivator behind Virginia Commonwealth [...]
Wilbanks Smith and Thomas acquired
Norfolk-based Wilbanks Smith and Thomas Asset Management has been acquired by Cleveland-based registered investment adviser Clearstead Advisors. The companies signed the merger in February 2024. Financial terms of the acquisition, which closed April 1, were not disclosed. Clearstead rebranded WST’s advisory business as Clearstead Advisory Solutions, a division of Clearstead Advisors. A wealth an[...]
Accenture Federal Services to acquire Cognosante
Arlington County-based Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has entered into an agreement to acquire Falls Church-based Cognosante, the companies announced Tuesday. Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory review, were not disclosed in the announcement released Tuesday by the two companies. Cognosante’s more than 1,500 employees will join AFS’ workforce of more than 14,000[...]
Capital One-Discover deal faces federal scrutiny
McLean-based Capital One Financial announced plans in February to buy Discover Financial Services for $35.3 billion in an all-stock deal that would mark Capital One’s largest ever acquisition and make it the nation’s biggest credit card lender. The transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, according to the banks. At close, […]
First National to acquire Prince George-based community bank
Strasburg-based First National has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Prince George-based Touchstone Bankshares in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $47 million, First National announced Tuesday. The parent companies’ merger combines community banks First Bank and Touchstone Bank to create a bank with expected total assets of about $2.1 billion, $1.5 billion in [&he[...]
McLean’s Iridium to purchase Satelles
McLean-based Iridium Communications, a global satellite communications company, has entered into an agreement to acquire Satelles, a Reston-based provider of satellite-based time and location services that serve as a backup for GPS and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), Iridium announced Monday. Satelles’ positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) service is known as Satellite T[...]
Charlottesville’s Astraea acquired by Fla. satellite company
Astraea, a Charlottesville-based geospatial analytics firm, has been acquired by Nuview, a Florida-based company developing a satellite imaging constellation, the companies announced Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not available. Founded as a for-profit benefit corporation in 2016, Astraea applies data science and artificial intelligence to analyze imaging and sensor data gathered from E[...]