Ingram’s January 2023

“There is always going to be an outlier who can come in, and it’s about attitude and the willingness to see this industry from a different perspective,” DeNeve says. “Whether that involves how things are done, technology, com pensation—there are so many ways to evolve as an industry, and that gets me excited because, frankly, the opportu nities are endless.” For Duffy, the deal was the culmi nation of getting his hands dirty, in a manner of speaking. “We are very patient and ethical diamond miners who take a long range view of both our vision and opportunity,” he said. “We sort through a lot of coal to find the few stand-out ‘diamond’ brokerages to partner with in key strategic markets. Scott DeNeve and his team are very rare diamonds.” Michael Rea, Rx Savings Solutions There was a time when Michael Rea, a pharmacist by training and practice, thought of throwing in the towel on the pharmacy-tech platform he created in 2010. But thanks to a late-arriving angel investor, Rea kept the company afloat long enough to land its first whale of a client: The state of Kansas. That set Rx Savings Solutions on a growth arc that would make it one of the region’s fastest-growing companies. And eventually, catch the eye of McKessen Corp., the Texas-based health-care conglomerate that came calling in 2022 with a buyout offer: $600 million upfront, with the potential for an additional $240 million if key performance indicators are met. Rea and his team wrote a new chapter for regional companies in the health-care space by joining the ranks of success stories like Marion Laboratories, Cerner, Netsmart, and others.

“We are proud to serve as an example of a homegrown business that has seen tremendous national success,” Rea said. “Kansas City is a dynamic city with strong talent, and we are proud to have roots here.” McKesson saw the acquisition as a way of advancing health outcomes for all with the RxSS platform, which empower price-sensitive consumers and simplifies the dizzyingly complex world of prescription drug and plans. It also does something for those who helped Rea turn the boat around and create an attractive acquisition target: “We anticipate the acquisition will also provide employees with enhanced career opportunities,” he said. Marty Bicknell, Mariner Wealth Advisors Like the dominant football team that tells its opponents it intends to run the ball and dares them to stop it, Marty Bicknell long ago put the U.S. wealth-management sector on notice: It was going to grow—a lot—with a laser-focused acquisition strategy. He and his team at Mariner Wealth Advisors drove the ball down the field throughout 2022, executing nine acquisitions that have boosted its total assets under management past $100 billion. That’s a long way from the $300 million Bicknell started with when he founded the firm in 2006. The year produced what many firms might consider a blitzkrieg of M&A activity, with nine additions, but that was a comparative slowdown from 2021, which produced 14 acquisitions. It started in February with Arbor Wealth Management of Miramar Beach, Fla., and a $527 million pop in assets under management. The biggest catch of 2022 came in August with The Financial Ser vices Network and its $26 billion AUM.

Mega Land Rush | Diode Ventures, an offshoot of Black & Veatch, pushed forward with its Golden Plains Technology Park venture, a massive data-center complex in the Northland that has already secured Facebook parent Meta as a tenant. Under the direction of President Brad Hardin, Diode spent much of 2022 acquiring most of the 900 acres needed for the massive project. While it won’t be a huge employer when it’s built out, the project is expected to produce an astronomical $103.8 billion in development over the course of its construction. All told, it envisions 5.5 million square feet of space across 16 data-center buildings, and construction is expected to start this year. An IPO for C2FO? | Has any entrepreneurial venture in Kansas City grown bigger, faster, and with greater impact, than Leawood-based C2FO? The fintech powerhouse has gone global with its platform, which helps companies manage their accounts receivable by immediately accessing cash from third-party buyers. In January, it closes a $140 million funding round, and there’s growing expectation that an IPOmay be in the offing—in June, the firm hired a pair of C-suite execs with experience in orchestrating public stock offerings. Closing the Book on Cerner | One of the biggest deals of the past decade wrapped up when Oracle Corp. announced that a majority of the outstanding shares of Kansas City’s Cerner Corp. had been validly tendered, allowing the sale to close on June 8. Civic pride took a bit of a bruising with the deal, which cost the metro area claim to being the hometown of its largest private sector employer and pinnacle example the city’s entre. The $28.3 billion deal was the end of the corporate line for Cerner as a brand, coming slightly more than 40 years after its founding. Bigger Things Ahead? | The dollars involved might not have been eye-popping, but the potential implications might well be: Lead Bank in July announced that it had been sold to Internet billionaire Jackie Reses. The tech billionaire amassed her fortune with Alibaba and Square, two headline names in global fintech. Reses’s vast resources could push Lead Bank into a higher fintech profile. even after years as one of Kansas CIty’s fastest-growing financial institutions.

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I n g r a m ’ s

January 2023

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