| | | | | Silicon Valley's banner year on Wall Street reshapes IPO landscape | |  | | (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) | | | Highly valued tech companies have used their clout to rewrite the rules of IPOs, a shift underscored by this week's lineup of multibillion-dollar offerings.
The value of VC-backed IPOs hit a decade high, but their most lasting impact will be on the structure of traditional IPOs and the creation of alternative paths to public markets that have been blazed by intrepid startups: | | | | | | | | | | Airbnb closes out crisis year valued at $100B | |  | Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky led the company through a tough year that ultimately ended in a marquee public listing.
(Mike Windle/Getty Images) | | | Airbnb made its stock market debut on Thursday, propelling the company's value to over $100 billion on a fully diluted basis and edging out DoorDash to become the largest US IPO so far in 2020.
The listing is the culmination of a roller-coaster year that had endangered Airbnb's IPO hopes in March: | | | | | | | | | | | | Optimism, urgency driving a resilient year in M&A | | The encouraging news about a trio of COVID-19 vaccines has injected dealmakers with a sense of optimism coming into the close of the year—a feeling many have not experienced since COVID-19 upended day-to-day life earlier this year. Although far from over, the pandemic could only suppress M&A activity for so long.
DFIN's latest market report identifies the key trends driving dealmaking to a resilient finish for the year, from how financial sponsors have helped buoy deal sizes through the pandemic to cyclical factors behind aggregate M&A figures. In addition, the report features insights from DFIN about navigating this environment and challenges on the horizon.
Read it now | | | | | | | | | | The lenders that paved the way for US PE in Q3 | | Goldman Sachs is a famed financial colossus that supervises more than $2 trillion in assets. Antares Capital is a private equity specialist with less than $30 billion under management and administration.
They are two very different investors. But both were among the five most-active lenders to PE-backed companies in the US during the third quarter of the year, with Antares and its 30 deals finishing at the top of the quarterly rankings.
You can find the rest of the list in our Q3 2020 US PE Lending League Tables, plus a host of other rankings of the most-active lenders broken down across various deal types, geographies and sectors: | | | | | | | | | | Insurtech soars to its best quarterly total since 2017 | | The insurtech sector raised $1.9 billion in VC funding during Q3 2020, a 69% increase over Q2 and its biggest quarterly total since Q4 2017. Health and life insurtech companies continued to drive a significant share of deal value, accounting for roughly half of the total invested capital.
Several startups hit unicorn status as the pandemic accelerated a shift to digital insurance sales, according to our Q3 installment of Emerging Tech Research on the insurtech sector. Yet 2020 is on pace to fall well below 2019's dealmaking activity, and deal sizes have decreased markedly. Other takeaways from the report: - Late-stage pre-money valuations through Q3 stand at $70 million, down from a decade high of $235 million in 2019
- Cyber insurance has proved highly attractive to investors, notching multiple major deals in 2020
- Reinsurance and underwriting technology are in early stages, but have potential for significant growth as the world emerges from the pandemic
| | | | | | | | | | Assessing the pandemic-driven rise in insider-led VC deals | |  | | (Malte Mueller/Getty Images) | | | When the pandemic hit, VCs pursuing potential new investments were forced to do so without meeting startup founders in person. One impact of that new reality has been a shift in focus to existing portfolio companies. Through the end of Q3, the proportion of insider-led investor teams had reached a decade high of 8.3%.
However, that increase alone appears unlikely to dampen the prospects of the venture ecosystem, according to our latest analyst note. Among the other takeaways: - Despite some variation in exit returns for new and existing investors, insider-led deals haven't led to significant company underperformance
- Multiple of invested capital (MOIC) data arranged by lead investor status shows no serious outperformance for either group
- While valuation step-ups for insider-led transactions outperformed in 2019 and 2020, new and existing investors have historically shown little difference in that area
| | | | | | | | | | After investigators discovered a nine-man outfit of UK investors had made $660 million off the April plunge of oil-future prices into negative territory, they had to decide: Was it a scandal? Or was it one of the greatest trades in history? [Bloomberg]
Emboldened by the success of centralized authority in combating the coronavirus, the Chinese government is taking a more hands-on approach to private business. [The Wall Street Journal]
What happens when your go-to restaurant shuts down? It's a question far too many people have been grappling with in 2020. [Curbed] | | | | | | | | | | | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 353 Deals | 1383 People | 423 Companies | 18 Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2008 Vintage Global PE Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | Erie Street elevates Jerry Graunke, Tari Haro to new roles | | | Chicago's Erie Street has promoted Jerry Graunke to president and Tari Haro to managing director and chief marketing officer. In his new role, Graunke will head Erie's investment strategy, direct mergers and acquisitions for Erie's portfolio of clients, and oversee Performance Improvement Partners, a tech consultancy Erie purchased at the start of 2020. Haro will continue to oversee Erie's marketing strategy. | | | | | | | | | | | | General Catalyst leads $160M Series C for Cityblock | | | Cityblock Health has raised $160 million in a round led by General Catalyst, propelling the company's valuation to north of $1 billion. Founded in 2017, the New York-based startup operates a healthcare platform for lower-income communities in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Washington, DC. Cityblock was valued at $328.3 million with a $53.3 million round in July, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | LeanTaaS banks $130M Series D | | | Insight Partners has led a $130 million round for LeanTaaS, a creator of analytics software that helps healthcare organizations provide care at lower costs. Based in Santa Clara and Charlotte, LeanTaaS raised $40 million at a $390 million valuation in December 2019, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | Cannabis startup LeafLink rolls up $40M in new funding | | | LeafLink has collected a $40 million Series C led by Founders Fund, TechCrunch reported. The New York-based company operates a wholesale cannabis marketplace that currently connects more than 5,700 retailers with over 1,800 brands and distributors. Founded in 2015, LeafLink was valued at $255 million in August 2019, according to PitchBook data. It has raised more than $90 in total private funding, the report said. | | | | | | | | Fairmarkit boxes up $30M for supply chain platform | | | Fairmarkit has raised a $30 million Series B co-led by GGV Capital and Insight Partners. The Boston-based company is the creator of an AI-based procurement and supply chain platform that helps organizations purchase goods and services more efficiently. GGV partner Jeff Richards has joined Fairmarkit's board. The startup was valued at $36 million in October 2019, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | App intelligence startup banks $17M | | | Bionic has emerged from stealth with a $17 million Series A led by Battery Ventures. Founded in 2019, the Palo Alto-based company is the developer of an analytics platform that helps companies manage, operate and protect apps. Bionic has received prior funding from Cyberstarts and several angel investors. | | | | | | | | | | Advent International nears $1.2B plexiglass purchase | | | Advent International has entered late-stage negotiations to acquire Altuglas International, the plexiglass division of French chemicals company Arkema, in a deal that could value the unit at around €1 billion (about $1.2 billion), Bloomberg reported. Arkema had been looking to offload some of its assets after activist investor Elliott Management accumulated a minority stake in the company, the report said. | | | | | | | | Thoma Bravo values Venafi at $1.1B+ | | | Thoma Bravo has made a growth investment in Venafi in a deal that values the Salt Lake City-based provider of machine identity management at around $1.15 billion. The deal nearly doubles the $600 million valuation Venafi hit in 2018 when it received a $100 million investment led by TCV. TCV and existing investor Foundation Capital will retain stakes in the company. | | | | | | | | Quad-C, L Squared link on education SBO | | | | | | | | | Ipackchem closes in on latest SBO | | | SK Capital Partners has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Ipackchem, a French company focused on sustainable packaging. Ipackchem is currently owned by French investor Sagard, which acquired the company in a previous secondary buyout from Céréa Capital and Bpifrance in 2017. | | | | | | | | EQT does Danish ferry deal | | | The infrastructure arm of EQT has agreed to acquire Molslinjen, a Denmark-based operator of passenger ferries, from a group of investors including Polaris, which acquired the company in 2015. Funds for the new investment will come from EQT Infrastructure V, which has a target of €12.5 billion (about $15.2 billion). | | | | | | | | JFLCO takes over CodeMettle | | | JF Lehman & Company has acquired CodeMettle, an Atlanta-based provider of communication software for US government agencies and commercial clients. Based in Washington, DC, JFLCO typically invests in the aerospace, defense, government and environmental industries. | | | | | | | | Duke Cannon secures PE backing | | | | | | | | | | | AbCellera boosts IPO price range | | | Biotech startup AbCellera has increased the anticipated price range for its IPO to between $17 and $18 per share, up from $14 to $17 per share. The company, which is developing coronavirus antibody therapies with Eli Lilly, could raise more than $400 million at the midpoint price of $17.50 per share. The Food and Drug Administration previously approved one of the therapies, Bamlanivimab, for emergency use. Peter Thiel, DCVC Bio and Viking Global are among AbCellera's backers. | | | | | | | | Amulet sews up Synteract sale | | | Amulet Capital Partners has completed its sale of Synteract, a contract research organization focused on drug development, to Syneos Health for a reported $400 million. Amulet, a middle-market firm that targets the healthcare space, acquired the California-based company in 2016. | | | | | | | | | | Excellere returns to market with fourth fund | | | Excellere Partners is aiming to raise $750 million for its fourth flagship fund, The Wall Street Journal reported, the lower-middle-market firm's first vehicle after the death of co-founder David Kessenich earlier this year. Based in Denver, Excellere reportedly closed its previous flagship fund on $625 million in 2015. | | | | | | | | PruVen Capital gets going with $300M fund | | | | | | | | | | | Hyundai Motors to pick up robot maker Boston Dynamics | | | Hyundai Motor Group, the automobile unit of the South Korean multinational Hyundai, has agreed to buy an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group, in a deal that values the company at $1.1 billion. Softbank, which bought Boston Dynamics from Alphabet in 2017, will keep a 20% stake. The Massachusetts-based company develops humanoid and mobility robots for use in various industries. | | | | | | | | GlobalWafers, Siltronic seal semiconductor deal | | | Taiwan's GlobalWafers has agreed to buy German peer Siltronic for €3.75 billion (nearly $4.6 billion), or €125 per share, a deal that will combine two manufacturers of silicon wafers. The price represents a 10% premium to the closing price of Siltronic's shares on Nov. 27, the final trading day before the company announced that it was nearing a deal with GlobalWafers. | | | | | | | | AT&T to unload anime unit for $1.2B | | | | | | | | | | "The divergent impacts on sectors from the COVID-19 pandemic persisted in Q3, as companies that attracted attention and proved strong growth at the start of the pandemic sustained momentum. In 2020 through Q3, software startups remained dominant and underpinned deal value with nearly €10 billion invested. In addition, pharma & biotech investment has been thrust into the limelight as the international race for a COVID-19 vaccine heats up."
Source: PitchBook's Q3 2020 European Venture Report | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Who's in the newsletter today? | | People | | | | Investors | | | | Companies | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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