MERCATO PARTNERS
Navigating a sea of opportunities to fund extraordinary companies.
Breaking News
The Mercato Partners Acquisition Corporation announces its proposed business combination with Brazilian-based Nuvini
“Nuvini will be a perfect complement to the larger Mercato practice. Their vision to foster the entrepreneurial spirit and create value through long-term partnerships aligns perfectly to the foundational pillars that we have built Mercato on.” – Greg Warnock
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Breaking News
Data-Fintech Innovator Klover Joins Traverse Fund IV
On August 12, Klover officially announced its $25 million Series A round. Mercato Partners Traverse Fund led the round with participation from new and existing investors including Lightbank, Core Innovation Capital and Starting Line. With this financing, Klover will expand the sales, marketing, engineering, and product teams aggressively, grow their 1.5 million user base, and broaden the services and value to their consumers.
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News
Traverse Fund III Portfolio Company Cloud Elements Acquired by UiPath
Cloud Elements acquisition by UiPath, a leading enterprise automation software provider, marks an early exit for Traverse Growth Fund III. Mercato Partners recognized early on in 2018, during the time of investing, that Cloud Elements was onto something special with its API-centric technology.
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Mercato Partners' Venture Practice, Prelude, Leads $3M Investment In GloveBox
“We’re excited to partner with GloveBox because of their ability to solve a complicated problem in the insurance industry,” said Zach Sivertson, managing director at Prelude. “The GloveBox team understood the challenges facing this market and, from their experience, built a platform that elegantly solves the problems facing the 36,000 independent agencies and their clients.”
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Mercato Leads Beam Dental's $80M Series E
Traverse, the Mercato Partners growth fund, led Columbus, Ohio-based Beam Dental’s $80M series E. Beam simplifies the antiquated $75 billion dental insurance industry for members, brokers, and employers. Also participating in this round were Drive Capital, Georgian, Nationwide Ventures, Ainge Advisors, and Breakout Capital.
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Mercato Partners Completes Inaugural Growth Fund Producing Industry Leading Returns
Mercato Partners has completed the final distribution of its inaugural Travers Growth Fund, delivering a net multiple of 3.7x and a net IRR of 51%. The return metrics places Mercato Partners Fund I in the top 3% of its peer group. A select few of the companies in Fund I included: Control 4, MediConnect Global, Stance, and Fusion-io. Mercato Partners has since expanded by adding multiple practices which include Savory, a dedicated food and beverage fund; Alpha, a direct secondaries fund; and Prelude, an early-stage venture fund. All practices are off to the races with top tier track records.
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Director Joe Kaiser Speaks With Crunchbase About Utah's Thriving Tech Scene
Sophia Kunthara of Crunchbase discusses the IPO of Qualtrics, Mercato Partners success, and Utah’s thriving tech scene with director Joe Kaiser. The article reflects on Utah’s track record of being home to highly successful companies and its ability to attract and cradle top tier talent in the tech space.
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Breaking News
Thoma Bravo Announces Strategic Majority Investment in Venafi
On December 10, 2020, Venafi, a Mercato Traverse Fund II portfolio company, announced a strategic majority investment from leading private equity firm, Thoma Bravo. The investment sets the value of Venafi at $1.15B and marks the successful close of Mercato’s investment in the Salt Lake City-based firm.
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Mercato Partners Shauna Smith of Savory Fund Is Promoted to CEO
Mercato Partners Shauna Smith of Savory Fund has recently been promoted to CEO. She previously served as President and will continue to grow Savory’s portfolio of delicious restaurant brands. Shauna brings more than a decade of executive management experience in the food and beverage industry and has been a driving force behind the successful expansion of several restaurants. Congratulations to our very own Shauna Smith!
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Announcing
Traverse Growth Fund IV
For The Better
For over 15 years we have had the privilege of partnering with visionary entrepreneurs and teams as they build transformational companies. While much has changed since we opened our doors in 2007, our commitment to fund the extraordinary has not wavered. We are more energized than ever to seek out the next generation of great American companies that will disrupt their industries and forever change how we learn, work and live—for the better.
With that said, we are excited and grateful to announce the closing of Mercato’s fourth growth fund at $400M—our largest ever. While a momentous milestone for our local private equity community, this fund represents our larger commitment to build better with the next cohort of exceptional leaders, particularly those in under-served geographies. We have seen first-hand the impactful change that investing in these communities can have. By championing their founders and funding their visionary ideas, venture and growth capital have the power to transform the technological and economic landscape of a city and an entire state.
As we look to the future, we are eager to continue partnering with the entrepreneurs that work to challenge the status quo and solve today’s complex problems. In conjunction with the significant investment potential presented by today’s economic climate, we are confident that our fourth growth fund will be the best yet.
Looking forward,
Mercato