Reuters: Cascadia Capital Expands Tech M&A with Silicon Valley Hub

Cascadia Capital is expanding into Silicon Valley with the launch of a technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A) group, according to a Reuters report. The initiative is led by the appointment of Jonathan Cantwell, formerly a partner and head of software investment banking at GP Bullhound, as head of the new group. Cantwell will oversee talent recruitment for the Silicon Valley office and the development of the firm's advisory practice. His previous experience includes advising PeakAI on its sale to UiPath and Compendium on its sale to Oracle during his tenure at GP Bullhound. Cascadia Capital has commenced hiring for the technology group, targeting companies with enterprise values of up to $2 billion. The new practice will focus on providing advisory services within the enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. Cantwell believes the market has reached an "inflection point," with many high-growth software and AI companies actively seeking advisors, particularly within enterprise automation, data analytics, and enterprise applications. Fueled by a 2022 investment from Atlas Merchant Group, led by former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond, Cascadia Capital aims to scale its technology M&A team to approximately 20 bankers. CEO Michael Butler, a former Morgan Stanley executive, is spearheading the expansion to capitalize on emerging M&A opportunities within the technology sector.