has been acquired by
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, confirmed today that it acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Synapse Product Development (“Synapse”), a Seattle-headquartered product development and consultancy firm, on its acquisition by Cambridge Consultants.
Cambridge Consultants is an innovative product development firm and part of the Altran group (EPA: ALT), a French publicly-traded leader in high-tech engineering consulting. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016.
Since its founding in 2002, Synapse has grown exponentially, evolving from a boutique engineering firm to a pioneer in product development. Synapse works with clients such as Nike, Microsoft, Samsung and the San Francisco 49ers to solve complex engineering challenges and develop products that transform their clients’ brands and accelerate advances in technology. Synapse has a track record in the development of products aimed directly at the consumer market, and is a natural fit with Cambridge Consultant’s reputation for truly innovative product and service development.
The combined firms will have a workforce of more than 700 technology consulting and product development specialists, making it one of the world’s largest and most capable innovative product development companies, with significant presence on both coasts of the US.
Christian Schiller, Managing Director, Cascadia Capital said: “This is a transformational transaction for both Synapse and Cambridge Consultants. Together, they will expand their geographic reach, accelerate their strong growth trajectories and provide enhanced capabilities to their clients. It was a pleasure to work with the Synapse team to help them find a great partner with a strong cultural fit.”
Redwood Stephens, President of Synapse, said: “Cascadia brought valuable insights to the transaction process and worked closely with us to resolve various matters throughout the deal process in a win/win fashion, which was critical given the partnership element to this transaction with the Cambridge and Altran management teams. In Cambridge we have found the ideal partner, and we are excited at the opportunity this transaction brings to our clients, the market and most importantly our employees.”
The Cascadia Capital team was led by Christian Schiller, Managing Director.