Honors include Financial Services – General, Financial Services – Banking, and Regional Excellence – United States
WASHINGTON, DC (October 31, 2023)—Ascend Capital Group, a middle-market investment banking firm providing buy-side and sell-side advisory services, is proud to share it is a winner in three categories for the 2023 Inc. Power Partner Awards.
The Power Partner Awards honor B2B organizations across the globe that have proven track records supporting entrepreneurs and helping startups grow. The list recognizes 389 firms in marketing and advertising, health and wellness, financial services, legal, logistics, and productivity, as well as other areas of business.
Inc. assessed Ascend’s support of three clients: DirectAthletics in its acquisition of FloSports, Interware Development in its acquisition by Avenu, and Nehemiah Security in its acquisition by ThreatConnect. Upon evaluation, Ascend was named a category winner for Financial Services – General, Financial Services – Banking, and Regional Excellence – United States.
“We are honored Inc. is recognizing the Ascend team for the guidance we provide our clients during such a pivotal time in their businesses’ growth story,” said Ascend Managing Director DJ Palmer. “We prioritize ensuring our clients’ needs are understood and valued as they make important decisions about moving their businesses forward. The acknowledgment of that commitment is humbling.”
The November 2023 Issue of Inc. magazine is available online now at inc.com/magazine and will be on newsstands beginning October 31, 2023. To view the complete list of 2023 Power Partners, please visit inc.com/power-partner-awards/2023.
ABOUT THE TRANSACTIONS
Ascend Advises DirectAthletics in its Acquisition of FloSports
The powerhouse combination of FloSports and DirectAthletics created a unified, essential destination for Track & Field and the broader Running community. The acquisition leverages DirectAthletics’ technology suite with FloSports’ live and on-demand programming, rankings, and content under one umbrella.
“Simply put, we couldn’t have done this without Ascend,” said Dave Stelnik, CEO and Co-Founder of DirectAthletics. “The team’s guidance and expertise were indispensable to us at every step of the journey, and their disciplined approach helped keep everyone on track throughout the process. The intentional way they strategically positioned our business ensured we found the right partner.”
Ascend Advises Interware Development in its Acquisition by Avenu & Mill Point Capital
The integration of Interware’s dynamic payment solutions and Avenu’s mature sales and marketing framework highlight the importance of unifying solutions into one, allowing state and local governments to collect permitting & licensing, utilities, and tax revenue more efficiently.
“DJ and the Ascend team spent endless hours with our family prior to launching a transaction to understand our collective and individual objectives,” said Sandy Rowe, President & CEO of Interware. “They were knowledgeable and responsive, helping us not just maximize value but find a partner we could feel truly good about taking on our family’s legacy and providing our employees, customers, and products new opportunities to flourish and thrive. The success of this outcome is a direct result of their deep expertise in the GovTech space and, most importantly, in leading us as founders through the very emotional and complex process of selling our business.”
Ascend Advises Nehemiah Security in its Acquisition by ThreatConnect
The acquisition added Nehemiah Security’s Cyber Risk Quantification to ThreatConnect’s existing Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) and Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) capabilities, creating the world’s only cybersecurity platform aligning the entire security lifecycle to the goal of reducing risk.
“Ascend was an incredibly valuable partner to our team throughout the sale process. They are a relationship-focused team and never lost sight of the bigger picture. Their extensive insight and knowledge around positioning and buyers, and their disciplined approach to negotiations helped us achieve a great outcome for everyone,” said Nehemiah Security Chief Executive Officer Paul Farrell.
