| | | | | US VC continued its strong run with another record-breaking quarter | | The US venture industry's 2020 growth spurt showed no signs of abating during a record-breaking first quarter. Dealmaking, exit and fundraising activity all continued at or near historical highs.
Transactions of all types continued to swell, as mega-deals, large funds and outsized IPOs dominated capital flows throughout the market.
The Q1 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank and Secfi, presents data and analysis to explore the significant trends that shaped the VC market over the last three months, including SPAC market growth, a boom in life sciences and a surge in valuations. Other key takeaways include: - Three-quarters of all US VC investment dollars were deployed in late-stage deals, the highest portion since 2010.
- The focus on large, late-stage deals may be a harbinger of a rise in exit activity, with many portfolio companies possibly preparing to be acquired or go public.
- Q1 is estimated to be the largest quarter on record for nontraditional investor deal activity. Capital from these investors has helped drive late-stage deals, leading to companies staying private longer.
| | | | | | | | | | Grab to go public in record-setting $4.5B SPAC deal | | "Super app" maker Grab has inked a deal to go public through a SPAC backed by Altimeter Capital, setting a record for the most money ever raised in a blank-check deal. - Grab expects to receive $4.5 billion in cash from the transaction, which includes a more than $4 billion PIPE led by Altimeter, with support from BlackRock, Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global, T. Rowe Price and others.
- The deal gives Singapore-based Grab an equity value of $39.6 billion, up from a reported $14 billion in 2019. The ridehailing, delivery and digital payments company reported a net loss of $2.7 billion with net revenue of $1.2 billion in 2020.
- SoftBank is Grab's largest existing investor and will own a stake worth nearly $7 billion at the $10-per-share deal price, followed by Uber ($5.35 billion) and Didi Chuxing ($2.8 billion).
- This is the latest in a string of big deals for Altimeter Capital, which led Plaid's $425 million round last week and has backed PIPE rounds for used car marketplace operator Cazoo and fintech company SoFi.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Transforming the waste management industry, ambercycle is recycling old, used polyester-containing fabrics into new fabrics and new clothing. Its advanced recycling process molecularly separates the different garment components and recovers the polyester to make a yarn, while saving energy and time. Hundreds of deep tech startups like ambercycle (NSF-1830987) are funded annually by the National Science Foundation. Each startup can receive up to $2 million to support translational R&D. Learn more about NSF funding for startups at seedfund.nsf.gov. | | | | | | | | | | Carlyle takes over Beautycounter in big bet on clean cosmetics | |  | | (Yulia Naumenko/Getty Images) | | | The Carlyle Group has agreed to take a majority stake in Beautycounter in a deal that values the clean beauty brand at $1 billion. - The unicorn valuation is more than double the estimated $400 million that Beautycounter, which is owned by Counter Brands, was valued at in 2018, according to PitchBook data.
- Beautycounter is known for publishing "The Never List," which names 1,800 ingredients, more than 1,300 of which are banned in the EU, that are excluded from its products. Beautycounter has also lobbied Congress to more strictly regulate potentially harmful ingredients in the US.
- The Southern California-based brand has raised funding from investors including TPG Growth, Mousse Partners and FS Investors. The Wall Street Journal reported that TPG is among those exiting a stake as part of the deal with Carlyle.
| | | | | | | | | | A newly opened newsstand in Seattle's Capitol Hill shows why urban neighborhoods will make a post-pandemic comeback. [Bloomberg]
For better or worse, remote court proceedings are changing how justice is served. [The Atlantic]
The spring and summer lumber buying rush has commenced. But the price of lumber is up 193% year-over-year—and it's still rising. [Fortune] | | | | | | | | | | | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 326 Deals | 855 People | 239 Companies | 35 Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2007 Vintage Global Venture Funds with more than $250M | | | | | | | | | | | A message from Finistere Ventures | | | | What's on the horizon for agrifood tech startups post-pandemic? | | A tremendous surge in agrifood tech investment in 2020 toppled previous records. Sign up for exclusive access to the 2020 AgriFood Tech Investment Review, a report developed by Finistere Ventures in collaboration with PitchBook, to learn more about why the global pandemic, food supply chain shifts and consumer consumption changes fueled an incredible upswing in capital, valuations and investor diversification, and find out which investment sectors are most likely to sustain that growth.
A leading global agrifood technology and life sciences venture capital investor, Finistere Ventures provides a comprehensive assessment of global financing activity and breaks down important trends by region, subsector and stage for both agtech and foodtech ecosystems. The report also includes an updated agtech and foodtech startup market map, a snapshot of the top 2020 agtech and foodtech deals, and a preliminary look at investment activity in early 2021.
Click to read our 2019 investment review in anticipation. | | | | | | | | | | | | Epic Games hits $28.7B valuation | | | Epic Games, the creator of popular games including "Fortnite" and "Houseparty," has raised $1 billion in funding at a $28.7 billion valuation. Last August, the gaming company raised $1.78 billion at a $17.3 billion valuation. The latest round includes a $200 million strategic investment from existing backer Sony, with other investors including Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford and Fidelity Management & Research also participating. | | | | | | | | SambaNova Systems secures $676M | | | | | | | | | SoftBank leads $220M round for home gym startup | | | | | | | | | Clearcover drives off with $200M | | | Clearcover has raised a $200 million Series D led by Eldridge, with participation from American Family Ventures, Cox Enterprises and OMERS. The Chicago-based company offers a platform that uses AI to provide lower car insurance rates. Clearcover was valued at $280 million in January 2020, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | Immune therapy startup scores $189M | | | Flagship Pioneering-backed Repertoire Immune Medicines has raised a $189 million Series B from investors including SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Based in the Boston area, the clinical-stage biotech company is a developer of immune therapies intended to treat cancer, immune disorders and other serious diseases. Repertoire was valued at $203 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hellman & Friedman has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Austin-based Enverus, the developer of a SaaS-based data analytics platform for the oil and gas industry. Genstar Capital, which has owned Enverus since 2018, will remain a minority shareholder in the company. | | | | | | | | Blackstone strikes deal for Sabre Industries | | | Blackstone has agreed to acquire Sabre Industries, a designer and manufacturer of overhead steel poles, towers and other related products and services for the electric utility and telecom industries, from The Jordan Company, which bought the Alvarado, Texas-based company from Kohlberg & Co. in 2019. As part of the latest deal, Blackstone senior adviser Ulrich Spiesshofer will become chair of Sabre's board of directors. | | | | | | | | General Atlantic devotes $80M to Vegamour | | | General Atlantic has announced an $80 million minority investment in Vegamour, a Los Angeles-based maker of vegan, plant-based hair and beauty products that was founded in 2016. Funds from the investment will go in part toward growing the company's ecommerce presence, launching new products and expanding into new geographies. | | | | | | | | Incline invests in animal health company | | | Incline Equity Partners has backed Revival Animal Health, a distributor of products including pet vaccines, reproductive health aids, supplements and prescriptions. Based in Orange City, Iowa, the company sells its products on its ecommerce website as well as through breeders, animal shelters, veterinarians and other pet health professionals. Based in Pennsylvania, Incline typically invests in manufacturing, distribution and business services companies with enterprise values of up to $450 million. | | | | | | | | Apollo inks deal for vehicle materials company | | | | | | | | | | | | | BC Partners cashes out $500M in Chewy stock | | | BC Partners has sold 6.1 million shares of online pet supplies retailer Chewy at $82.50 apiece, or roughly $500 million, Bloomberg reported. After falling some 2.1% in pre-market trading, Chewy's stock jumped roughly 4% to $87.38 by Tuesday's close, giving the company a market cap of $36.3 billion. PetSmart, a BC Partners portfolio company, originally acquired Chewy for $3.35 billion in 2017 before Chewy raised around $1 billion in an IPO just two years later. | | | | | | | | | | | | Crosspoint Capital pulls in $1.3B for debut | | | Crosspoint Capital Partners has closed its debut flagship fund on $1.3 billion, exceeding a $1 billion target. With offices in Menlo Park, Calif. and Boston, Crosspoint will use the vehicle to make buyouts, growth deals and other investments in companies across the cybersecurity, privacy and infrastructure software sectors. | | | | | | | | Lever VC raises $46M for Fund I | | | Lever VC has announced the fourth close of its first flagship VC fund at $46 million. The firm primarily invests in early-stage startups offering alternative protein products; its portfolio includes Mission Barns, which uses animal cells to cultivate fat, and Blackbird Foods, which offers wheat protein and plant-based pizzas. Lever plans to hold a final close for the vehicle in June. | | | | | | | | | | Ameriprise Financial to buy BMO EMEA unit | | | Ameriprise Financial has agreed to buy BMO's EMEA asset management arm for £615 million (about $846 million) in cash. The US group will combine the business with its asset manager, Columbia Threadneedle, bringing the latter's total assets under management to $671 billion. | | | | | | | | | "As Nordic-based startups soared to new heights, larger rounds drove aggregate deal value figures. In 2020, 68.5% of overall deal value was deposited in rounds over €25 million—slightly higher than the European proportion of 61.8%, which indicates larger rounds underpin Nordic deal value for the region's biggest startups."
Source: PitchBook's 2021 Nordic Private Capital Breakdown | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Who's in the newsletter today? | | People | | | | Investors | | | | Companies | | | | | | | | | |
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