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| Hedge giant Tiger Global dips its feet into seed-stage funding | |  | | (krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images) | | | PitchBook data shows that Tiger Global has backed more than 100 companies so far this year. But the firm's investment in Blair, a seed-stage provider of income-share agreements for bootcamps, trade schools and other educational institutions, stands out. - Typically, Tiger Global backs more mature companies. But TechCrunch reported last week that the firm has led a $6.3 million seed funding for Blair. The deal was Tiger Global's first seed round of the year and sits well above the $2.6 million median seed deal size, according to the Q1 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the firm's other deals have been at the Series B stage or later, according to PitchBook data.
- Betting early on promising new startups may give late-stage investors a competitive edge in subsequent rounds of financing. The rising valuations seen in seed-stage deals in recent years reflect the growing involvement of larger brand-name firms seeking earlier access to hot prospects.
- However, not all seed-stage companies are interested in having a firm like Tiger Global lead their deals. Many early-stage founders are looking for go-to-market strategy guidance from experienced investors—something that Tiger Global does not offer. Unlike traditional VC firms, Tiger Global doesn't take board seats and it generally has a hands-off approach with its investments. Neither Tiger Global nor Blair responded to a request for comment.
- For some startups, the hefty prices offered by Tiger Global will be hard to resist, even at the seed stage. These founders may decide to accept capital at a high valuation, and then build a strong board at the next round of financing.
| | | | | | | | | | SoftBank to make $1.6B bet on THG technology unit | |  | | Fitness supplement shop Myprotein is among THG's portfolio of ecommerce companies. (Anne-Marii/Flickr) | | | Eight months after THG (formerly The Hut Group) completed its record-breaking London IPO, SoftBank is set to invest $1.6 billion in its yet-to-be-formed technology unit THG Ingenuity and the intellectual property that helped the UK company build its ecommerce empire. - SoftBank will also invest $730 million in the parent company as part of a roughly $1 billion fundraising round, and will also have the option to take a 19.9% stake in THG Ingenuity.
- The deal values the new division at $6.3 billion, just short of the $7.11 billion valuation that THG secured in its IPO last September.
- The Guardian reported that the group's founder Matthew Moulding described the unit as a "social media influencer platform." It is designed to promote THG's health and lifestyle brands and those of its third-party clients.
- THG, which has a portfolio of 11 online beauty and nutrition brands, including Espa, Lookfantastic and Myprotein, has also agreed to buy Bentley, a UK manufacturer of prestige skincare and haircare products, for $255 million.
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| | Using neuroscience, sports science and an immersive environment, NeuroTrainer is helping athletes by measuring and analyzing how they perform cognitive tasks to improve focus, speed and situational awareness.
NeuroTrainer (NSF-1950948) is one of hundreds of deep-tech startups funded annually by the National Science Foundation, a government agency that plays a central role in accelerating discoveries into the marketplace.
Each startup can receive up to $2 million to support translational R&D. NSF helps teams navigate the earliest stages of technology translation, investing roughly $200 million annually in startups. In the last five years, these companies have gone on to raise billions in follow-on capital, and the portfolio has had 100+ exits.
Learn more about NSF funding for startups at seedfund.nsf.gov. | | | | | | | |
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| Global M&A begins its post-pandemic recovery | | The pandemic is not over, but the global economy is showing signs of recovery—and so is M&A. In all, 8,753 deals worth a combined $917.7 billion were closed in the first quarter of 2021. The total includes massive, headline-grabbing takeovers, but it is also an indication that confidence is returning in 2021.
Our Q1 2021 Global M&A Report, sponsored by Liberty GTS and Mercer, looks at key macroeconomic drivers behind the rebound in deal activity, from the vaccine rollout to the impact of the US government stimulus. Our analysts also drill down into the specific regional and sector trends fueling the comeback. Highlights include: - The wave of consolidation among European companies has helped deal flow in the region hit a quarterly peak, with mergers among European banks and insurers being particularly prominent.
- Healthcare services have dominated dealmaking, accounting for over half of global M&A volume for the period, with healthcare technology deals also showing a significant uptick.
- An outlook for the coming quarters and why current indicators suggest even more activity in the months ahead as a surge of deals announced at the start of the year come to fruition.
| | | | | | | | | | By eliminating barriers to investing, is Robinhood democratizing finance or encouraging risky behavior? A look inside the app's big gamble. [The New Yorker]
How BMW is quietly stealing the spotlight from Tesla and bringing investors along for the ride. [Fortune]
Shipping containers have created a trend in residential design, but now they're also finding a second life in bars, cafes and restaurants. [The New York Times] | | | | | |
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| | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 450 Deals | 1789 People | 401 Companies | 31 Funds | | | | | | |
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| 2013 Vintage Global Venture Funds with more than $250M | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | CircleCI secures $100M, buys Vamp | | | San Francisco-based CircleCI, the developer of a continuous integration and delivery platform that helps engineering teams automate software delivery, has raised $100 million in a Series F led by Greenspring Associates at a $1.7 billion valuation. The round also saw participation from IVP, Sapphire Ventures, Baseline Ventures and others. The company has also announced its acquisition of Vamp, the Dutch provider of a release orchestration platform, which will broaden CircleCI's presence across the software delivery supply chain. | | | | | | | | Legion lands $50M Series C | | | Legion, the provider of an AI-based workforce management platform, has collected $50 million in a round led by Stripes, bringing the company's total funding to $85.5 million. Legion's technology helps businesses in sectors including manufacturing, retail and hospitality provide flexibility and safety to employees. The startup was valued at $100 million last September, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | |
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| TPG Growth backs Ideal Image | | | TPG Growth has acquired a minority stake in Ideal Image, the operator of a direct-to-consumer aesthetic brand that offers a range of services such as Botox, laser hair removal and body sculpting. L Catterton has owned a majority stake in Ideal Image, which is a division of Steiner Leisure, since purchasing Steiner in 2015 for $925 million, including debt. | | | | | | | | RLH Equity to make digital commerce investment | | | | | | | | | Caris Life Sciences valued at $7.8B+ with Sixth Street-led growth round | | | Sixth Street has led an $830 million growth equity round for Caris Life Sciences, valuing the Texas-based biotech company at $7.83 billion. Caris specializes in personalized cancer treatments, and plans to use the new funding in part to advance into liquid biopsies and potentially help propel itself toward an IPO within the next year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Additional firms involved in the round included Silver Lake, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Millennium Management. | | | | | | | | PE firms lose out on bids for Victoria's Secret | | | L Brands has opted to spin out Victoria's Secret into its own public company after multiple bids from private equity firms valued the lingerie business at more than $3 billion, The New York Times reported. L Brands reportedly expects to be valued at between $5 billion and $7 billion through the spinout. The news comes after Sycamore Partners originally agreed to acquire a 55% stake in Victoria's Secret for some $525 million in early 2020 but called off the deal in May after COVID-19 caused stores to shutter. | | | | | | | | Korean PE firm set to buy TaylorMade from KPS | | | Seoul-based Centroid Investment Partners has agreed to acquire TaylorMade Golf Company from KPS Capital Partners, which acquired the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company for $425 million in 2017. Earlier reports said KPS was looking to sell TaylorMade at a roughly $2 billion valuation. TaylorMade is a manufacturer of golf equipment, balls, bags and accessories. | | | | | |
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| BuzzFeed in talks to buy Complex Networks | | | News publisher BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire Complex Networks as part of a pending deal to go public through a reverse merger with a SPAC, The Information reported. In March, BuzzFeed was said to be negotiating a merger with a blank-check company called 890 5th Avenue Partners. Complex Networks owns a variety of entertainment-themed websites. | | | | | |
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| Blackstone-backed Oatly aims for $10B valuation in IPO | | | Oat milk maker Oatly has set the terms for its IPO, with plans to offer 64.7 million American depository shares and another 19.7 million shares from shareholders at between $15 and $17 apiece. The Swedish company could raise up to $1.4 billion and achieve a valuation of around $10 billion, according to an SEC filing. The growth arm of Blackstone invested $200 million in Oatly last July, with celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman and Jay-Z also participating in the round, which valued the company at roughly $2 billion. | | | | | | | | Ginkgo Bioworks inks SPAC deal | | | Ginkgo Bioworks plans to go public through a merger with blank-check company Soaring Eagle Acquisition. The deal gives the synthetic biology specialist a $15 billion equity valuation and is expected to provide $2.5 billion in cash. Ginkgo recorded $76.7 million in revenue last year with a net loss of $124.8 million. It was valued at $4.86 billion last year, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | |
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| Permira hopes to get $15B for new fund | | | UK-based PE firm Permira is eyeing more than $15 billion for its newest flagship buyout vehicle, with plans to potentially begin collecting commitments in H2, Bloomberg reported. The firm closed its most recent fund in the strategy on €11 billion (about $13 billion) in 2019. Permira typically targets investments in the technology, consumer, healthcare and services sectors; it has backed companies such as Klarna, Cambrex and Synamedia. | | | | | | | | Quantum Energy eyes $4.5B for eighth fund | | | Houston-based Quantum Energy Partners has begun the push to raise $4.5 billion for its eighth energy-focused flagship fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. The firm is said to have postponed fundraising for the new fund last year when the COVID-19 pandemic sent oil prices plummeting. Quantum Energy's previous flagship vehicle closed on $5.58 billion in 2018. | | | | | |
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| BLCK VC launches scout program | | | Sequoia and Lightspeed have partnered with nonprofit BLCK VC to create a scout program for aspiring Black investors. The program will include two cohorts each year and work with 15-20 scouts over a six-month period. Sequoia and Lightspeed already operate their own scout programs, which rely on a network of founders and others to source seed investments. | | | | | |
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