1 Farelogix makes deal to be acquired — again
When one deal fall through, another suiter swooped in for Miami-based tech company Farelogix.
Barcelona-based Accelya announced this week it would acquire Farelogix. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This comes after Farelogix and Sabre announced in May that their $360 million merger was off.
Farelogix serves a who’s who list of airlines and aims to increases sales for carriers through revenue streams such as merchandising. It employs more than 300 employees. Accelya is a leading provider of technology solutions to the global airline and travel industry,
“Our focus on delivering high performance, PSS-agnostic technology that can drive revenue, increase brand loyalty, and reduce costs is strategically aligned with the Accelya vision and directly addresses the needs of all airlines,” said Jim Davidson, CEO of Farelogix, in a statement. “This acquisition represents a tremendous opportunity for Farelogix and Accelya to accelerate innovation in technologies for airline retailing, commerce, order management, and financial settlement.”
The acquisition is expected to close this summer. Accelya said more than 300 Farelogix employees, primarily in Miami, will join Accelya’s global operations. Until the closing, Accelya and Farelogix will operate as separate businesses.
2 Florida Funders invests in Simplenight, which is moving HQ to Miami area
Florida Funders announced the closing of its investment in travel-tech startup Simplenight. Simplenight will be moving operations from New York to South Florida with its new headquarters opening next month.
This undisclosed financing brings Simplenight’s total funding to date to over $11 million. Simplenight will use the funding to further develop partner integrations, reinforce its software and customer support and hire new key talent.
Simplenight, founded in 2013, describes itself this way: Simplenight is a one-of-a-kind B2B platform that collects global experiences for easy accessibility and “bookability,” allowing customers the ability to visit their preferred brands and book everything in one place. Global brands such as Google use Simplenight to power the booking of in-destination products and services, and brands are able to improve consumer engagement, cross-selling and brand loyalty. Simplenight currently offers over 1 million bookable products in more than 1,300 destinations across 190 countries.
“It used to be innovative to be able to book flights and hotels online, then it became about being able to book more things while on your phone. Now, we believe the next shift is about being able to book any experience, anywhere,” said Mark Halberstein, CEO and founder of Simplenight. “Our platform offers an efficient way for our partners to better serve their customers as they adapt to a new normal and thrive beyond COVID-19.”
Florida Funders, a hybrid venture capital fund and crowd-investing platform, recently ranked as Florida’s most active VC fund by CB Insights and Pitchbook. [Read more on Refresh about Florida Funders]
3 Rockefeller funding to help minority entrepreneurs
To help connect minority business owners with much-needed capital and credit-building tools, the Rockefeller Foundation Opportunity Collective selected Miami-Dade County as one of 10 communities nationwide that will receive funding.
The recently launched Collective has initially pledged $10 million across the locations to invest in existing organizations that help eliminate barriers for Black, Latino and women-owned businesses. The other communities are Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Houston and El Paso, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; Newark, New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; and Oakland, California.
“Black and [Hispanic] small-business owners receive only pennies out of every dollar the federal government lends to small businesses,” said Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, in a statement. “And when life expectancy is more than 15 years lower in minority neighborhoods than wealthier neighborhoods in the same city, the American Dream is just that: a dream for far too many.”
4 GenoSUR to open a Miami-Dade manufacturing facility for COVID for testing kits
Chilean-based biotech start-up, GenoSUR and 7 Holdings Group (7HG), a logistics provider, have joined forces to open a manufacturing facility in Miami-Dade County that will produce portable sampling collection kits and transport devices for COVID-19, and other respiratory viruses.
GenoSUR has supplied over 300,000 testing kits in the last few months to the Chilean Government. Partnering with Chile’s Export Promotion Bureau through its trade office in Miami, ProChile Miami, and the Chilean economic development agency CORFO, GenoSUR expanded into Miami-Dade County from Santiago with the opening of a “soft landing” office at CIC Miami in September 2019. Read more about GenoSUR’s story in Miami here.
5 Opportunities knock!
- EndeavorLAB is a two-month accelerated growth program in partnership with ecosystem builders to support local early-stage companies using Endeavor’s expertise in scaleups and mentorship. The first cohort will be powered by the City of Miami for female entrepreneurs. Its objective is to support women with business challenges and equip them with the right tools and skills to scale their ventures, ultimately promoting female-led entrepreneurship as one of the catalysts of economic growth in Miami. Participating entrepreneurs will receive a scholarship covering the cost of the program. Hurry – the deadline to apply is Sunday, June 21. Apply here.
- Calling all founders! Applications are now being accepted for o500 Startups Miami’s new Growth Program, which has a multi-phased approach to help startups reach the next level of scalable and repeatable growth. The free program is for tech startups that have launched but not yet found product market fit. Apply by June 28. Learn more here and apply here.
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