| | | | | The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A | January 6, 2021 ![]() | | Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A | | | | | | | | | | Affirm eyes $10B+ valuation in IPO | | Affirm plans to raise up to $934.8 million in its IPO, offering 24.6 million shares at $33 to $38 apiece. At the midpoint of that range, the fintech company would be worth $10.8 billion on a fully diluted basis. It was valued at $2.9 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook data.
The IPO would be the first major tech debut of the year, following a jam-packed December that saw public offerings from Airbnb, DoorDash and C3.ai. San Francisco-based Affirm is targeting Jan. 13 for its first trading day, Bloomberg reported.
Affirm, which offers a "buy now, pay later" service for online retailers, nearly doubled its annual revenue to $510 million for the fiscal year ended June 30. Home exercise-bike maker Peloton is the company's largest merchant, accounting for 30% of revenue during the third quarter.
Affirm had plans to go public last month but reportedly postponed them due to delays at the Securities and Exchange Commission. It will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol AFRM.
Related read: Silicon Valley's banner year on Wall Street reshapes IPO landscape | | | | | | | | | | Brexit agreement may mean more deals—and more red tape—for private equity | |  | Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at a meeting in early December.
(Aaron Chown/Getty Images) | | | After months of uncertainty, investors breathed a sigh of relief when the UK and the EU reached a trade deal in late December, just ahead of the Brexit deadline.
But the agreement still leaves many questions unanswered when it comes to financial services, including fundraising rules and the overall impact on European private equity. | | | | | | | | | | Gojek, Tokopedia mull merger to create Indonesian tech giant | |  | | Jakarta's Gojek and Tokopedia could combine to form an $18 billion company. (Herianus Herianus/Getty Images) | | | Gojek and Tokopedia, two of Indonesia's biggest private companies, have discussed a merger to create a combined entity that would seek to go public in their home country, as well as the US, Bloomberg reported.
A newly formed company could reportedly be worth about $18 billion. In the potential deal, ridehailing and digital payments giant Gojek would fetch a $10.5 billion valuation, and ecommerce specialist Tokopedia would be valued at $7.5 billion, the report said. The two companies have amassed funding from investors including Alphabet, Sequoia India, Alibaba and SoftBank.
Gojek spent much of 2020 in on-again, off-again merger talks with its main ridehailing rival, Grab, with discussions occuring as recently as December. But those talks reached an impasse over the potential combined company's ownership structure, according to reports. SoftBank, a Grab and Tokopedia investor, has also reportedly become impatient with the lack of progress in the Grab-Gojek discussions and now supports a Gojek-Tokopedia combination.
As for their public listing aspirations, Gojek and Tokopedia could go with a traditional IPO, but have also received interest from special-purpose acquisition companies for a deal, Bloomberg reported. | | | | | | | | | | Frequent-flyer miles and credit-card points began as novelties for the aviation industry. These days, they might be just as important to an airline's business as actual airplanes. [The New York Times]
The novel "American Dirt" was supposed to be Macmillan's publishing triumph of the year. Instead, it turned into a horror story. [Vulture]
Superstar psychologists have asserted for decades that the idea of the "hot hand" in sports is "a massive and widespread cognitive illusion." A very different kind of superstar might be proving them wrong. [Bloomberg] | | | | | | | | | | | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 530 Deals | 1447 People | 402 Companies | 31 Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2013 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds | | | | | | | | | | | TA Associates appoints CEO, new MDs | | | TA Associates has chosen Ajit Nedungadi as its next CEO, part of a slew of promotions announced by the Boston-based private equity firm. Nedungadi has worked at TA Associates for 21 years and has been a managing partner alongside chairman Brian Conway since 2017. He is based in London, where he oversees the firm's European strategy. TA Associates has also promoted Jason Mironov, Jeffrey Hadden and Tony Marsh to managing director. | | | | | | | | TPG vet becomes founding partner at Patient Square | | | | | | | | | Silversmith names new general partner | | | Silversmith Capital Partners has promoted Brian Peterson to general partner. Peterson has worked at the Boston-based growth equity firm since 2015, with a focus on investments in healthcare IT, healthcare services, software and information services. | | | | | | | | | | Rivian eyes new capital at $25B valuation | | | Rivian is nearing new funding that will value the electric truck company at some $25 billion, Bloomberg reported. Several existing investors are reportedly contributing billions of dollars to the funding round. Rivian's backers include Amazon, Ford and BlackRock. Last July, the company raised $2.5 billion in a round led by T. Rowe Price. | | | | | | | | Divvy secures $165M at $1.6B valuation | | | Expense management specialist Divvy has raised $165 million in Series D funding from investors including PayPal Ventures, Hanaco and Whale Rock Capital Management. The round values the Utah-based company at $1.6 billion, double the $800 million valuation it received in 2019, according to PitchBook data. Divvy's monthly user sign-ups have grown 500% since March 2020, and it counts weight loss tech startup Noom and the Utah Jazz among its clients. | | | | | | | | Cloud security startup snags $145M | | | Cybersecurity company Iboss has raised a $145 million round led by NightDragon and Francisco Partners. The Boston-based startup provides network security services through the cloud, which has seen tailwinds from a rise in remote work during the pandemic, Iboss CEO Paul Martini said in a statement. The startup's tech is used by more than 4,000 organizations throughout the globe. | | | | | | | | Ikena Oncology banks $120M for cancer treatment | | | | | | | | | SimpleNexus brings home $108M | | | SimpleNexus has raised a $108 million Series B led by Insight Partners. Founded in 2011, the Utah-based company is the developer of a home ownership platform designed to connect mortgage loan officers, borrowers, real estate agents and settlement agents. SimpleNexus raised a $20 million round from Insight Partners in 2018. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Iconovir Bio picks up $77M | | | | | | | | | | | Clearlake joins Siris with Web.com deal | | | Clearlake Capital has agreed to make a strategic investment in Web.com, which Siris Capital acquired in a take-private buyout worth nearly $1.5 billion in 2018. Siris will retain a significant stake alongside Clearlake. Based in Florida, Web.com offers domain registration, hosting and other internet services. | | | | | | | | MidOcean lands deal for Lynx Franchising | | | MidOcean Partners has purchased Lynx Franchising, the operator of a franchise platform with three brands focused on cleaning and disinfecting, disaster remediation and virtual office services. The Georgia-based company has 225 franchised locations across the Jan-Pro, FRSTeam and Intelligent Office brands. | | | | | | | | Platinum Equity purchases Mad Engine | | | Platinum Equity has acquired a majority stake in Mad Engine, a San Diego-based provider of licensed apparel and accessories for retailers including Walmart, Target and Old Navy. The deal marks the seventh investment for Platinum's small-cap team, which brought in $1.5 billion for its debut vehicle in 2018. | | | | | | | | Pritzker strikes chemicals pact | | | Pritzker Private Capital has acquired Vertellus, an Indianapolis-based provider of specialty chemicals for a range of markets including healthcare, coatings and transportation. Vertellus president and CEO John Van Hulle and other members of the management team will invest alongside Pritzker. | | | | | | | | Berkshire, AEA to swap National Carwash stake | | | Berkshire Partners has agreed to recapitalize National Carwash Solutions, a provider of car wash systems, cleaning fluids and related products through a range of brands. Berkshire will acquire its stake in National Carwash from AEA Investors, which has backed the Iowa-based company since 2017. | | | | | | | | Riverwood backs business intelligence specialist | | | Riverwood Capital has made a growth investment in HG Insights, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based provider of intelligence software that helps businesses improve their sales, marketing and strategy efforts. HG has raised more than $25 million in VC backing, with the company most recently valued at $64 million in 2018, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | Paycor eyes $270M in growth funding | | | | | | | | | | | Oatly readies $1B IPO for 2021 | | | Oatly has hired investment banks to begin preparing for an IPO sometime this year that will aim to raise $1 billion, CNBC reported. The Swedish manufacturer of oat milk and other products was valued at a reported $2 billion last July when it raised $200 million from an investor group led by Blackstone, with Oprah Winfrey, Howard Schultz and Natalie Portman among the round's other backers. | | | | | | | | Mondelez buys paleo bar-maker Hu | | | Mondelez has acquired Hu, a snack company known for making vegan and paleo-friendly chocolate bars. In 2019, Mondelez bought a minority stake in the company through its innovation and venture hub, SnackFutures. Other backers include Sonoma Brands and Trian founding partner Nelson Peltz. The deal values Hu at roughly $340 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report. | | | | | | | | DalFort set to offload VersaFlex | | | DalFort Capital Partners has agreed to sell VersaFlex, a manufacturer of epoxy and polyurethane coatings, to paints and coatings giant PPG. VersaFlex's products are used by companies in the water infrastructure, flooring and industrial sectors, among others. DalFort acquired the Kansas City, Kan.-based company in 2017 and subsequently conducted three add-ons. | | | | | | | | Niantic picks up social gaming platform | | | Pokemon Go creator Niantic has acquired Mayhem, the developer of a social gaming platform. The Mayhem platform will shut down in February. The company has received prior backing from investors including Accel, Y Combinator and Afore Capital. | | | | | | | | Indian cosmetics company eyes $3B debut | | | Online cosmetics startup Nykaa E-Retail has begun working on an IPO for sometime this year that could value the Indian company at more than $3 billion, Bloomberg reported. The company sells a wide array of cosmetics and other beauty products from hundreds of different brands. TPG Capital has owned a stake in Nykaa since 2019. | | | | | | | | | | LP-GP adviser Erigo Capital launches | | | Erigo Capital Partners, an advisory firm founded by veterans of BlackRock and Quellos Group, has announced its launch as a specialist in alternatives-investment consulting for general partners and limited partners. Leading the Connecticut-based firm are Neil Collins, who formerly held roles at Quellos and BlackRock's alternatives business; Bjorn Forfang, previously head of global client relationships at UBS; and David Barenborg, a former BlackRock managing partner. | | | | | | | | | | Gallo, Constellation finalize modified wine deal | | | E&J Gallo Winery has completed its acquisition of more than 30 wine brands from Constellation Brands after settling antitrust allegations brought by the Federal Trade Commission over an initial $1.7 billion transaction first announced in 2019. Constellation will now retain multiple labels that were to be sold in the original deal, including Cook's champagne, and both Constellation and Gallo will divest other brands to outside buyers. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Who's in the newsletter today? | | People | | | | Investors | | | | Companies | | | | Service Providers | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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