US VC braces for a possible slowdown

VC funding grows to protect against cyber threats; PE firms vie for media rights of France's Ligue 1; Bessemer earmarks $250M for crypto

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. PitchBook Log in The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A March 11, 2022 Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find: Our latest Quantitative Perspectives report dives into how the US venture industry may be able to weather headwinds in 2022. Our insurtech market map explores how VC funding is growing to protect against cyber threats. The media rights businesses of European soccer leagues continue to attract the attention of private equity investors. Today's Top Stories Quantitative Perspectives: US VC braces for possibility of slowdown Despite the breakneck momentum of the past two years, 2022 has ushered in some potential headwinds for the venture capital industry. Depressed equity markets, a prominent theme of inflation and geopolitical turmoil are all contributing to uncertainty. Our latest Quantitative Perspectives report dives deep into how the US venture industry may be able to weather these difficulties. The report also offers a closer look at public market movements, which have historically been a good indicator of venture activity. Key takeaways: Investors have left themselves vulnerable to valuation corrections by sacrificing protective deal terms in exchange for access to deal flow. The prospect of increasing bond yields may reduce venture's allure to LPs, but that effect will likely be tempered if inflation persists. VC investment outside of traditional funding hot spots accelerated during the pandemic as investment ticked up substantially in many states, including Vermont and Montana. read it now   Share:            Market Map: Insurtech VC funding grows to protect against cyber threats (erhui1979/Getty Images) Venture capital investment in insurtech is booming, with companies raising more than $14 billion in 2021—more than in the previous two years combined. One of the biggest drivers in this growth has been cyber insurance, as the changing nature of digital attacks has left gaps in coverage, convincing many companies to pursue standalone policies. Check out our insurtech market map to explore where else investors have placed their bets. Share:            Private equity firms vie for media rights of France's Ligue 1 (John Berry/Getty Images) Media rights to European soccer leagues are an increasingly coveted prize for global private equity firms making a play for exposure in the international world of sports. In one of the latest bids, firms including CVC Capital Partners, Silver Lake, Hellman & Friedman and Oaktree Capital are said to be vying for a minority stake in the new media rights unit of French soccer league Ligue 1. read more   Share:            Recommended Reads Private equity firms were once niche players serving big clients. Now they're becoming the supermarkets of the financial industry. [The New York Times] When AI tech vendors spotlight their work with defense industry customers, it's not always considered a badge of honor. But they still want the contracts. [Protocol] Banks that committed to lend tens of billions of dollars for leveraged buyouts and acquisitions are in search of buyers amid slow bond and loan markets. [Bloomberg] Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: 492 Deals 2027 People 472 Companies 28 Funds See what our data software can do   Quick Takes   The Daily Benchmark     2020 Vintage Global PE Funds     VC Deals     Roofstock lands $240M     Capchase picks up $80M to finance startup founders     RefleXion raises $80M     Slingshot Aerospace locks in $25M     Chipper secures seed financing     PE Deals     Sixth Street leads investment in Emplifi     Brookfield eyes Blackstone's La Trobe     TPG Rise backs Monarch Bioenergy     PE-backed Leap lands JobProgress     Exits & IPOs     Quantum Energy Partners weighs $3B sale of HG Energy     Fundraising     Makers Fund raises $500M for third fund     Investors     Bessemer earmarks $250M for crypto       The Daily Benchmark 2020 Vintage Global PE Funds Median IRR 13.54% Top Quartile IRR 43.90% 1.10x Median TVPI Select top performers Dyal Capital Partners V Hg Capital Saturn 2 General Catalyst Group X - Growth Venture *IRR: net of fees 93 Funds in Benchmark » Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks VC Deals Roofstock lands $240M Roofstock has raised a $240 million Series E at a $1.94 billion valuation. SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 led the round for the Oakland, Calif.-based company, which offers a digital real estate investing platform. View details   View 21 competitors »   Capchase picks up $80M to finance startup founders Capchase has raised an $80 million Series B led by 01 Advisors. The Boston-based company's platform is designed to help recurring-revenue businesses access and automate non-dilutive financing. View round   View 1 competitors »   RefleXion raises $80M Oncology company RefleXion has raised $80 million from investors including Ascension Ventures, Catalio Capital Management and Sixty Degree Capital. RefleXion is developing a biology-guided radiotherapy system intended to treat multiple tumors in the same treatment session. View round View 16 competitors » Slingshot Aerospace locks in $25M Slingshot Aerospace has raised $25 million in Series A1 financing co-led by Draper Associates and ATX Ventures. Based in Austin, the company is a developer of space simulation and data analytics products to help design, manage and secure satellites. View round   View 19 competitors »   Chipper secures seed financing Chipper has raised $5.6 million in a round co-led by Freestyle Capital, Propel Venture Partners and Slauson & Co. The Austin-based company is the developer of a fintech platform designed to help student loan borrowers manage debt repayment. View round   View similar company »   PE Deals Sixth Street leads investment in Emplifi Sixth Street Partners has led an equity investment in Emplifi, valuing the customer experience platform provider at over $1 billion. Backed by Audax Private Equity, Emplifi serves more than 7,000 global brands. View deal   View 99 competitors »   Brookfield eyes Blackstone's La Trobe Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to acquire Australian lender La Trobe Financial from Blackstone, Bloomberg reported. La Trobe has more than A$13 billion (about $10 billion) in assets under management. View deal   View similar company »   TPG Rise backs Monarch Bioenergy TPG Rise Climate has invested in Monarch Bioenergy, a joint venture between Roeslein Alternative Energy and a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. Founded in 2018, Monarch Bioenergy captures methane emissions and converts them into carbon-negative renewable natural gas to power homes, vehicles and businesses. View deal   View similar company »   PE-backed Leap lands JobProgress Nexa Equity-backed home contractor sales enablement software provider Leap has acquired JobProgress, a workflow and customer-relationship-management product for home contractors. JobProgress serves more than 1,700 home contracting businesses. View details   View 2 investments »   Exits & IPOs Quantum Energy Partners weighs $3B sale of HG Energy Quantum Energy Partners is weighing a $3 billion or more sale of HG Energy, a driller of gas in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Bloomberg reported. View details   View similar company »   Fundraising Makers Fund raises $500M for third fund Makers Fund has raised $500 million for its third investment vehicle. The early-stage VC firm focuses on startups in the entertainment sector; its portfolio includes game developer End Game and DreamCraft, which helps users publish and monetize games without writing code. View fund   View 61 investments »   Investors Bessemer earmarks $250M for crypto Bessemer Venture Partners has earmarked $250 million for investment in three sectors: consumer crypto, Web3 infrastructure and decentralized finance. The venture firm has also announced BessemerDAO, a discussion group for Web3 founders, investors and talent interested in crypto trends and resources. View details   View 858 investments »   Chart of the Day "Financial institutions including PE firms, hedge funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, investment banks, and corporate VC (CVC) arms, among others— collectively known as nontraditional investors—have increased their presence in the VC ecosystem in the past five years. The influx of nontraditional capital in the European VC landscape has led to increased competition between investors, larger rounds, and swelling valuations." Source: PitchBook's 2021 Annual European VC Valuations Report   Who's in the newsletter today? Companies Capchase Chipper DreamCraft Emplifi End Game HG Energy JobProgress La Trobe Financial Leap Monarch Bioenergy RefleXion Roofstock Slingshot Aerospace Smithfield Foods Investors 01 Advisors ATX Ventures Ascension Ventures Audax Private Equity Bessemer Venture Partners Blackstone Brookfield Asset Management Catalio Capital Management Draper Associates Freestyle Capital Makers Fund Nexa Equity Propel Venture Partners Quantum Energy Partners Sixth Street Partners Sixty Degree Capital Slauson & Co SoftBank TPG     About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact Follow us:       This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com via the PitchBook Platform. Do you want to change your email address, get a different edition or unsubscribe? Manage your subscription here. © 2022 PitchBook Data. All rights reserved. Venture capital, private equity and M&A financial information technology provider.