Legacy.com has a new owner
On Wednesday, Pamplona Capital Management announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Legacy.com. The Evanston-based company, which is the world’s biggest provider of online obituary technology, employs 165 people in the Chicagoland area. A spokesperson for Legacy said it has experienced “double-digit growth” for the past decade, and that its current projections indicate that trend will continue. [Press release]
Jellyvision lands $20M funding round
On Tuesday morning, Jellyvision announced that it has raised $20 million in funding from Updata. The HR tech company has experienced meteoric growth in the past few years, and expects to make 70 new hires by July. CEO Amanda Lannert said the funding round will not impact Jellyvision’s growth directly, but that the company decided to take outside funding in order to provide liquidity to some of its longtime investors and employees. [Built In Chicago]
Cision goes public through $2.4B merger
On Monday, Cision announced that it is merging with Capital Acquisition Corp. III in a deal that will make the combined entity public at a valuation of $2.4 billion. Cision CEO Kevin Akeroyd told the Chicago Tribune that the company will use the new funding to pay off debts, make investments in cloud technology and accelerate acquisitions. [Chicago Tribune]
Amazon opens brick-and-mortar bookstore in Chicago
Amazon.com’s long-awaited Chicago brick-and-mortar book store just opened in Lakeview. Unsurprisingly, Amazon takes a data-driven approach to curation. Its “featured books” table is decked out with books that have an aggregate rating of 4.8 stars or more. [Chicago Inno]
Road to Status partners with local organizations to provide immigration assistance
As immigration issues continue to be a concern for local communities and tech companies alike, Road to Status has announced new partnerships with the Little Village Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Technology Association. The Chicago-based immigration technology startup set up an immigration computer lab at LVCC’s Pilsen office in February, and is now offering local residents discounted access to its services from any device. [Press release]
TechGirlz gets donation for middle school tech education
Philadelphia-based technology education nonprofit TechGirlz just received a $125,000 donation from CompTIA to bring its program to Chicago. TechGirlz aims to inspire middle school girls to pursue careers in technology through partnering them with IT professionals. [Technically Philly]
Brideside expands brick-and-mortar presence
Brideside, a Chicago-based startup that creates curated online dress shopping experiences for bridal parties, is establishing a brick-and-mortar presence on the East Coast. The startup, which already has a showroom in Chicago, will be opening locations inside two Lord & Taylor stores in New Jersey and Virginia. [Press release]
New leadership training program launches in Chicago
Emerging LeadHERs, a newly launched, three-month training program and networking group for Chicago women, announced that it is currently accepting applications for its inaugural class. Founded by leadership coach Kelly Ann Keegan (pictured) and marketing VP Katie Constantine, the program will kick off its first cohort next month. [Emerging LeadHERs]
Reverb.com hires Outcome Health vet as general counsel
Reverb.com, which doubled both its headcount and its sales numbers in 2016, just made another key hire. On Wednesday, the online music gear marketplace announced that it has hired Collin Williams as general counsel. Williams has previously served as corporate counsel for Outcome Health and Oracle. [Press release]
Aprimo acquires Belgium-based ADAM Software
Aprimo, a Chicago-based marketing software provider, announced late last week that it has acquired ADAM Software. Based in Gent, Belgium, ADAM builds systems for creating and managing brand assets. Its customers include LEGO, IKEA, Adidas and Home Depot. [Press release]
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