| | | | | Blackstone's $13B Bumble boon continues surge for PE-backed IPOs | |  | | Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd became a billionaire after her dating app company's stock surged in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images) | | | Private equity firms were eager to capitalize on a red-hot stock market in the US during 2020, leading to a 200% spike in the annual value of PE-backed IPOs, according to PitchBook data. This week's headline-grabbing debut from Bumble is the latest sign all that IPO interest hasn't cooled down just yet. - The Blackstone-backed company's stock opened trading Thursday at $73, up nearly 70% from Bumble's IPO price of $43 per share. Shares in the dating app operator closed the day at $70.31, bringing the Austin-based company's market cap to roughly $13 billion.
- The surge made a billionaire out of Bumble CEO 31-year-old Whitney Wolfe Herd, capping a triumphant rise for the former Tinder executive, who reportedly became the youngest female founder ever to take a company public in the US.
- And it proved even more profitable for Blackstone, which less than two years ago acquired a majority stake in Bumble's former parent company for $3 billion.
| | | | | | | | | | Why some edtech investors could finally be set for a post-pandemic payday | |  | | (seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty Images) | | | For years, many venture capitalists were skeptical about betting on education technology startups, in large part because of a dearth of exit opportunities. Now, that's beginning to change. - When schools around the world shut their doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for digital education surged and investment in the sector took off at an unprecedented clip.
- Edtech startups collected $13.3 billion in global venture funding in 2020, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 by nearly 50%.
- As more capital and talent go toward edtech startups, it will pave the way for more acquisitions and IPOs, according to Ian Chiu, managing director at edtech-focused firm Owl Ventures.
| | | | | | | | | | A message from Silicon Valley Bank | | | | Solid fundamentals leave innovation economy, venture well-positioned for 2021 | | As the world shifted in 2020, so did the innovation economy. Proprietary research in Silicon Valley Bank's new Q1 2021 State of the Markets Report sheds light on the resilience of the innovation ecosystem in the face of a difficult year. Once-struggling industries became winners almost overnight, seeing revenue skyrocket. After coming to terms with the new normal, investors picked up their investment pace. Global VC AUM reached a new height of $1.3 trillion, driven by record VC fundraising and investment, and buoyed by sustained interest from limited partners. While the future is uncertain, strong fundamentals driving the innovation economy paint a hopeful picture for 2021.
Read Silicon Valley Bank's Q1 2021 State of the Markets Report to learn about SVB's perspective and 2021 outlook. | | | | | | | | | | Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital closes $2B worth of funds | | Thrive Capital has raised $2 billion for Thrive VII, bringing the firm's total assets under management to $9 billion. - The latest investment vehicle will consist of two funds, with $500 million earmarked for early-stage investments and $1.5 billion going toward a late-stage fund.
- Joshua Kushner, the brother of former White House adviser Jared Kushner, founded Thrive in 2009.
- The New York-based firm has notched a number of high-profile exits that either closed in the past year or are in progress, including fintech startups Affirm and Lemonade, software companies Unity and Segment, real estate platform operators Opendoor and Compass, and health insurance provider Oscar.
- Last September, it led a $185 million investment in collaboration platform creator Airtable at a $2.59 billion valuation, according to PitchBook data.
- Thrive will remain agnostic to the stage, sector and geography of portfolio companies.
| | | | | | | | | | Bespoke new PitchBook Benchmarks for PE, VC and more | | Our PitchBook Benchmarks are getting even bigger. - In addition to our usual comprehensive look at global fund performance data, we're now offering new editions catered specifically to the Europe, North America, private equity and venture capital markets.
- The benchmarks are also timelier than ever, with preliminary data from Q3 2020, when many markets began to recover from a pandemic nadir.
- We've got the full range of data on IRR, cash multiples and other performance metrics for whichever scope best meets your needs.
| | | | | | | | | | In Berlin, a 29-story skyscraper made entirely of wood could turn into a new model for inclusive urban architecture. [Bloomberg]
Fast fashion has revolutionized the clothing industry over the past two decades. Now, a new crop of companies that make fashion even faster is trying to accomplish the same thing. [The Atlantic]
Examining how Twitter and Clubhouse have adopted two very different approaches to building a social network. [OneZero] | | | | | | | | | | | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 403 Deals | 1554 People | 522 Companies | 22 Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2007 Vintage Global Real Assets Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | Angeles Equity promotes Annie Chau | | | Angeles Equity Partners has made Annie Chau its chief operating and compliance offer. Chau has worked at the Los Angeles-based private equity firm since its formation in 2014, previously serving as its chief administrative and compliance officer. Before that, she was a vice president at The Gores Group. | | | | | | | | Genstar names new managing director | | | Genstar Capital has promoted David Graham to managing director of capital markets. Graham has focused on debt financing activities since joining the San Francisco-based private equity firm in 2017, and he will continue to lead Genstar's debt financing for both new and existing investments. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Indian fintech startup BharatPe has raised a $108 million Series D at a $900 million valuation. Existing backer Coatue Management led the round, with participation from Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners and others. The company's platform lets merchants take out loans and accept payments from any payment app without charge. Founded in 2018, BharatPe was valued at $225 million with a $50 million round in 2019. | | | | | | | | Cancer treatment startup collects $80M | | | | | | | | | Pipeline Therapeutics closes $80M Series C | | | | | | | | | Modern Health becomes unicorn with $74M round | | | Founders Fund has led a $74 million Series D for Modern Health, the developer of a mental health platform intended to help companies such as Zendesk and Udemy manage employees' health needs. The funding values the San Francisco-based company at $1.17 billion. Modern Health was valued at $750 million in December, according to a PitchBook estimate. | | | | | | | | Human Interest locks down additional $55M in Series C funding | | | Human Interest has raised an additional $55 million for its Series C, bringing the round's total to $105 million. The new funding was led by Glynn Capital, with participation from NewView Capital. The San Francisco-based company is a 401(k) provider to small and medium-sized businesses. Human Interest, which also offers investment advisory services, was valued at $34 million with a $15.4 million round in 2019, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | | | Ares backs off $5B AMP bid | | | Ares Management has opted not to pursue an A$6.4 billion (about $5 billion) takeover of Australian wealth manager AMP, sending the company's shares down more than 10% Thursday. Ares had offered to buy AMP in October, as the embattled wealth manager was reviewing its strategic options in the wake of a 2018 scandal that sent its stock price into freefall. | | | | | | | | Alden Global continues Tribune pursuit | | | Alden Global Capital is in talks to acquire all the shares it doesn't already own in newspaper chain Tribune Publishing, The Wall Street Journal reported. Alden is said to already hold a 32% stake in Tribune, a Chicago-based publisher whose titles include the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and New York Daily News. The hedge fund previously offered to acquire Tribune for $14.25 per share in late 2020. | | | | | | | | Platinum abandons Marston's takeover bid | | | Platinum Equity has said it will not make another offer for Marston's after the UK pub chain operator rejected the firm's third takeover bid. Platinum had moved to acquire Marston's for £666 million (about $920 million) in early February, but the London-listed company said the offer of 105 pence per share, which represented a 19% discount to Marston's pre-pandemic share price, was too low. | | | | | | | | Apax lines up cybersecurity purchase | | | Apax Partners has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Herjavec Group, a cybersecurity company located in Toronto, Los Angeles and the UK. Founded in 2003, Herjavec provides a range of cybersecurity offerings, including advisory services, identity and access management, threat management and incident response. | | | | | | | | Francisco Partners injects $150M in Zocdoc | | | Francisco Partners has made a $150 million growth financing deal with Zocdoc, the provider of an online marketplace that allows patients to find doctors and schedule appointments. Based in New York, Zocdoc raised $130 million in a 2015 round led by Baillie Gifford and Atomico, with Founders Fund also participating. | | | | | | | | Apollo-backed LifePoint circling Ardent Health | | | | | | | | | | | Pet sitting company Rover fetches SPAC deal | | | Rover has agreed to combine with Nebula Caravel Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, in a deal that values the Seattle-based pet care provider at $1.35 billion and is expected to provide it with $325 million in cash. Rover's business, which connects pet owners with walkers and sitters, has been badly hit by stay-at-home orders during the pandemic: Year-over-year revenue fell by nearly half in 2020 to $48 million, and the company reportedly laid off around 40% of its staff last spring. Rover was valued at $925 million in 2018, according to PitchBook data, and has been backed by Madrona Venture Group, Menlo Ventures and T. Rowe Price. | | | | | | | | Bunker Hill offloads Taos Mountain to IBM | | | | | | | | | Brookfield's Clarios eyes $20B IPO | | | Car battery company Clarios is mulling a public offering later this year, with hopes of reaching a valuation of some $20 billion, Bloomberg reported. Brookfield Asset Management has owned the Wisconsin-based company since 2019, when it bought Clarios from Johnson Controls in a $13 billion deal. | | | | | | | | | | Mill Point pulls in $886M | | | Mill Point Capital has closed its second flagship fund on a hard cap of $886 million, stepping up from an inaugural fund that raised $450 million in 2018. Based in New York, Mill Point is a lower-middle-market investor focused on the industrial, business services and IT services sectors. | | | | | | | | LightShed Ventures lands $75M for first fund | | | | | | | | | Nationwide bolsters venture arm's war chest | | | Nationwide has expanded its corporate venture capital fund's investment capacity to $350 million, up from the $100 million it had established previously. The Ohio-based insurance and financial services company formed its venture arm in 2015 to invest in insurtech and fintech startups in areas including home solutions, telematics, fleet management and digital infrastructure. | | | | | | | | | | Planters to change hands in $3.3B+ snack deal | | | Hormel Foods has agreed to pay $3.35 billion to purchase Planters from Kraft Heinz, a little more than a week after reports emerged that the two packaged food companies were in talks. That price includes a tax benefit valued at some $560 million, making for an effective purchase price of $2.79 billion. Planters' various snack nut portfolio generated net sales of about $1 billion during 2020. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Who's in the newsletter today? | | People | | | | Investors | | | | Companies | | | | | | | | | |
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