M&A wrap: Kazoo grows HR software offerings; NI moves further into electric vehicle sector

Here are four recent mergers and acquisitions that caught our attention.

Kazoo Inc., an Austin-based maker of human resources software, said April 5 it purchased WorkTango Inc., a Toronto-based company making software for employee experience surveys and people analytics.

Kazoo, started in 2013 as YouEarnedIt, has developed a program for employee rewards and engagement — managers can track workers’ goals and give feedback, and employees can recognize the work of their peers. The company received an undisclosed investment from Vista Equity Partners in 2018 and rebranded in 2019.

In an announcement, Kazoo said the WorkTango acquisition makes it “the only solution in the market with a full suite of employee listening, recognition and rewards, and performance management capabilities.”

Financial terms were not disclosed. A spokesperson said the Kazoo headcount is now 150, while the announcement said the combined company has more than 1,000 customers, such as Kia of North America, LogicMonitor and the Brooklyn Nets.

— Will Anderson

Austin-based National Instruments Corp. — or NI — said March 31 it plans to acquire the test systems business of European tech company Kratzer Automation AG. It adds to NI's growing portfolio of electric vehicle-related acquisitions.

NI (Nasdaq: NATI) says the deal will add about 2% to its revenue this year. The deal is expected to close in Q2 and add 200 employees to NI's staff. Last fall, NI acquired California-based NH Research, which makes testing equipment for power electronics such as batteries. And last month the automated testing and software company said it closed on its purchase of Heinzinger Automotive GmbH, which is an EV branch of German power systems company Heinzinger electronic GmbH.

NI has made 17 acquisitions since 2003, according to Crunchbase.

— Brent Wistrom

Boostlingo LLC, an Austin-based company making interpretation technology that allows people to communicate across different languages, said March 23 it purchased Denmark-based VoiceBoxer and San Francisco-based Interpreter Intelligence, which have also built tech centered around interpretation services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The company said the acquisitions make Boostlingo "a one stop shop for customers to schedule interpreting in whatever format is most convenient for them — whether that is in person, video, phone, or remote simultaneous interpretation."

The founders of the two acquired companies will remain with Boostlingo: Interpreter Intelligence's Conor Power has been named vice president of engineering and Sergio Llorian of VoiceBoxer was named president of EMEA and RSI.

A spokesperson said the VoiceBoxer and Interpreter Intelligence acquisitions boost its headcount to nearly 100, up from 30 employees in March 2021. Boostlingo was founded in San Francisco in 2016. A spokesperson said the headquarters relocated to Austin in early 2021 and the company maintains offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ireland and Denmark. The company is backed by Mainsail Partners.

— Will Anderson

California-based Southland Industries announced April 5 that it has acquired for an undisclosed amount Brandt Companies, the largest mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor in the state of Texas.

Brandt is based in Dallas but had 80 Austin employees, a spokesperson said. It has contributed to major projects such as the consolidated maintenance facility at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the ICU Medical factory and the Fairmont Austin hotel.

Southland’s acquisition of Brandt combines 5,000 employees across 35 states with expertise from engineering through fabrication and installation to post-construction services, including operations, maintenance and energy services.

— ABJ staff

For more M&A deals, including a new owner for a high-profile public relations firm, go here.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with Kazoo's headcount after its acquisition.