| | | | | Cannabis backers have high hopes for rebound from deal downturn | |  | | (Luke Dray/Getty Images) | | | After a downturn in deal activity, the cannabis industry suddenly has high hopes that a rebound is on the horizon following a string of wins by pot-legalization campaigns.
Industry backers say their fresh ballot victories come amid this year's surging sales, with stressed-out consumers in lockdown smoking more weed and gobbling up edibles infused with CBD-based ingredients.
But the venture-backed cannabis market has seen markedly lower fundraising activity in 2020, a stark reversal from the dealmaking frenzy that accompanied a legalization wave that began six years ago: | | | | | | | | | | UK revisits IPO rules to entice tech founders | |  | | New IPO rules could help keep the listing of UK-based food delivery startup Deliveroo close to home. (Hollie Adams/Getty Images) | | | The UK government is taking a fresh look at the rules around IPOs in an effort to make post-Brexit Britain more appealing to tech companies seeking to go public.
Allowing for dual-class share structures is one measure that would give founders more control over their companies upon listing. But that has a cost, and not everyone is a fan of the potential changes: | | | | | | | | | | | | Education providers in the middle-market spotlight | | The new look of the back-to-school season has put the focus on companies that can offer comprehensive hybrid learning solutions and a strong technology platform. Along with a look at what's happening in the education ecosystem, the current issue of Transaction Trends dives into the pandemic's impact on EBITDA adjustments and offers a close-up on the packaging industry. To conclude this issue of Transaction Trends, we provide an update on quarterly platform tuck-in volume.
To learn more, download the full issue of Transaction Trends. You can also contact Stephen R. Isaacs, Managing Director and Head of BMO Sponsor Finance, at stephen.isaacs@bmo.com. | | | | | | | | | | Roblox details COVID-era growth in IPO filing | |  | | An image of "The Wild West," one of the games on Roblox's platform. (Courtesy of Roblox) | | | Roblox, the creator of a platform that allows users to play and develop games online, has filed for an initial public offering. The SEC paperwork showed significant sales and active user growth, but with that came wider losses. The company was valued at $4 billion in February, according to PitchBook data.
Revenue grew to nearly $588.7 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, a 68% year-over-year increase. But net losses more than quadrupled during that period, from $46.3 million to more than $205.8 million. More than half of Roblox's sales during this timeframe came via purchases on the Google and Apple-owned app stores, which each charge Roblox a 30% fee on in-app purchases.
Roblox's revenue steadily grew on a quarterly basis this year, notching $242.2 million in Q3, up from $189.7 million in Q2 and $156.8 million in Q1. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company also saw its daily active users gradually increase this year amid pandemic lockdown orders. Global daily active users on Roblox's platform reached 36.2 million in the third quarter, nearly double the amount of daily active users in Q3 2019.
Bookings, a metric that's primarily represented by in-game currency purchases that have not yet been recorded as revenue, hit $1.24 billion in the first nine months of 2020, nearly triple the bookings in the same period last year.
Roblox's leading stockholders include Altos Ventures, which owns 21.3% of outstanding shares, Meritech Capital (10.3%), Index Ventures (9.9%), Tiger Global (7.3%) and First Round Capital (6.3%). CEO and founder David Baszucki controls 70.7% of the company's voting power through exclusive ownership of super-voting shares. | | | | | | | | | | Who are the biggest winners of 2020's extraordinary SPAC boom? A group of investors known to some as the SPAC Mafia. [Forbes]
The concept of personal productivity has transformed the modern world of knowledge work. It might need to be transformed again. [The New Yorker]
You know about Silicon Valley. Now, the state of California wants to turn Lithium Valley into the next big thing. [Bloomberg] | | | | | | | | | | | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 438 Deals | 1357 People | 341 Companies | 29 Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2006 Vintage Global Buyout Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | Peter Thiel joins AbCellera board | | | Peter Thiel has joined the board of AbCellera, the provider of an antibody discovery platform designed to prevent and treat disease. Thiel had previously participated in a $105 million Series B for AbCellera that took place in May. Backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Vancouver, Canada-based startup has worked with Pfizer and Eli Lilly on antibody research. AbCellera may conduct an IPO as soon as December that would value it at several billion dollars, according to Bloomberg. | | | | | | | | Blackstone brings on former SAP co-CEO | | | Jennifer Morgan, who was named co-CEO of German software giant SAP in October 2019, has joined Blackstone as the New York-based firm's first global head of portfolio transformation and talent. She will focus on driving digital transformation and other tech-focused initiatives at Blackstone's portfolio companies. Morgan left SAP in May after 16 years at the company. | | | | | | | | | | | | Forter gets $125M at $1.3B+ valuation | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sapphire leads $60M round for Verbit | | | Verbit, the creator of an AI-based transcription and captioning platform, has pulled in $60 million. The Series C was led by Sapphire Ventures, with existing backers Vertex Ventures, Stripes, HV Ventures, ClalTech and new investor Vertex Growth also contributing to the financing. In January, the New York-based startup raised $31 million at a $126.8 million valuation, according to PitchBook data. Verbit's tech is used by the higher education, legal, media and enterprise sectors to create transcriptions and captions for live and recorded video and audio. | | | | | | | | ZenBusiness collects $55M Series B | | | ZenBusiness has raised $55 million in a round led by Cathay Innovation, with support from GreatPoint Ventures and Lerer Hippeau Ventures. The Austin-based company is a developer of digital products and tools that help entrepreneurs launch and manage micro businesses. ZenBusiness raised $15 million at a $55 million valuation in September 2019, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | Immunotherapy startup launches with $53M | | | Umoja Biopharma has raised $53 million in a Series A co-led by MPM Capital and Qiming Venture Partners. The Seattle-based pre-clinical-stage biotech company is developing cellular immunotherapies to treat cancer. Umoja was valued at $23 million after an $8 million seed investment from MPM and DCVC Bio in November 2019, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | | | | | PE firms ink $4.8B biotech deal | | | A group of investors including CITIC Capital, Centurium Capital and Hillhouse Capital has agreed to acquire China Biologic Products for $120 per share, or roughly $4.76 billion. The deal marks a 16.8% premium to the biotech company's closing price on Sept. 17, 2019, the final trading day before the company announced it was in talks to go private. Based in Beijing, China Biologic is a maker of plasma-based biopharmaceutical products. | | | | | | | | Clearlake, nThrive line up $1B+ transaction | | | Clearlake Capital Group has agreed to purchase nThrive Technology, a provider of revenue cycle management software for the healthcare industry, with PE Hub reporting the deal is worth more than $1 billion. The business is currently a division of nThrive, a Georgia-based developer of healthcare software that was formed in a 2015 merger backed by Pamplona Capital Management. | | | | | | | | Ahold, Centerbridge to acquire FreshDirect | | | Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize and Centerbridge Partners have agreed to purchase FreshDirect, a New York-based provider of online grocery services. As part of the deal, Ahold will acquire a majority stake in the business and Centerbridge will own 20%. | | | | | | | | Eurazeo to purchase Altaïr for $136M | | | Eurazeo has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Altaïr, a European provider of home care and insect control products, for €115 million (about $136 million). The company reported €105 million in revenue in 2019. | | | | | | | | Shore Capital strikes deal with Old World Spices | | | | | | | | | GTCR to back Jet Support Services | | | GTCR has agreed to recapitalize and attain a majority stake in Jet Support Services, a Chicago-based provider of maintenance support and financial services for the business aviation industry. Jet Support Services CEO Neil Book and the current management will partner with GTCR as part of the deal. | | | | | | | | | | | | Nasdaq strikes $2.75B financial fraud pact | | | Nasdaq has agreed to pay $2.75 billion in cash to acquire Verafin, the creator of a cloud-based platform that helps financial institutions detect, investigate and report financial fraud. The Canadian company was recapitalized last year in a C$515 million (about $394 million today) deal, with new equity financing coming from Spectrum Equity, Information Venture Partners and other backers. | | | | | | | | EQT-backed biotech software company files for IPO | | | Certara, a provider of biotech software for drug trials, has registered for an IPO, according to an SEC filing. Based in Princeton, N.J., the company will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol CERT. EQT acquired Certara in a 2017 deal worth $850 million. | | | | | | | | Equistone to unload eyewear business | | | Equistone Partners Europe has agreed to sell Eschenbach to UK-based Inspecs, a deal that will combine two European manufacturers of glasses and other eyewear. Equistone has owned Eschenbach, which is based in Germany, since 2007. | | | | | | | | Lightning eMotors eyes SPAC merger | | | Lightning eMotors, a startup developing electrification solutions for commercial fleet vehicles, is discussing a merger with special-purpose acquisition company GigCapital3 that could value the company at between $700 million and $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. The SPAC is also trying to line up $100 million in financing to support the deal, the report said. Lightning eMotors, based in Loveland, Colo., raised $41 million in equity and debt last December in a round led by BP Ventures. | | | | | | | | | | SR One closes first independent fund | | | SR One, formerly the venture capital arm of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, has closed its first independent fund on $500 million. The firm recently completed its spinoff from GSK, which is the largest investor in the oversubscribed fund. Based in Philadelphia, SR One will continue to seek out investments in biotech companies developing innovative medicines. | | | | | | | | Pike Street debuts with $237M | | | Pike Street Capital has closed its inaugural fund on $237 million, exceeding a $200 million target. The Seattle-based private equity firm will use the capital to target control investments in industrial tech companies with revenue of between $10 million and $100 million. | | | | | | | | | | Perella Weinberg nears SPAC deal | | | Perella Weinberg Partners is in advanced talks to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company in a deal that would likely value the New York-based investment bank at more than $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. Perella Weinberg filed confidentially for an IPO last year but later called off the listing, the report said. The bank was founded in 2006. | | | | | | | | | | BuzzFeed to take over HuffPost in media merger | | | BuzzFeed has agreed to purchase rival digital media company HuffPost from Verizon Media, with the unit of Verizon Communications taking a minority stake in BuzzFeed as part of the deal. Verizon subsidiary AOL acquired HuffPost for $315 million in 2011. The new transaction is all-stock, and Verizon Media will also make a cash investment in BuzzFeed, The Wall Street Journal reported. BuzzFeed has raised nearly $500 million in prior venture funding, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | | "Funds sized under €100 million have only accounted for 16.4% of fund count in 2020, pacing noticeably lower than funds sized between €1 billion and €5 billion, which have contributed 22.4%. If this pace is maintained through the remainder of 2020, it will be the first time in over a decade such a difference between the counts of the two fund sizes has occurred."
Source: PitchBook's Q3 2020 European PE Breakdown | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Who's in the newsletter today? | | People | | | | Investors | | | | Companies | | | | Service Providers | | | | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment