Axios Pro Rata: SeatGeek post-SPAC

Plus, SoftBank divorces Qualcomm. | Thursday, September 01, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Pro Rata By Dan Primack · Sep 01, 2022     Top of the Morning Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios   Sometimes the best SPAC mergers are the ones that don't happen. Or at least that's the attitude of online ticket marketplace SeatGeek, which recently boarded the SPAC termination train. Driving the news: SeatGeek yesterday announced $238 million in Series E funding at a $1 billion pre-money valuation, led by existing backer Accel. Other investors include Arctos Sports Partners, Wellington Management and Ryan Smith (Qualtrics CEO and Utah Jazz owner). Both Accel and Smith had planned to be part of the PIPE transaction tied to the SPAC merger. A source close to the New York-based company says it's now gearing up for a late 2023 IPO. Company brief: SeatGeek primarily competes with Live Nation's TicketMaster as an online marketplace whereby sports teams and venues can manage both their primary and secondary ticket sales. Partners include the Jazz, Dallas Cowboys and New Jersey Nets. It also comes up against both StubHub and Vivid Seats on the secondary side. Backstory: Like all ticket sellers, SeatGeek got crushed by the pandemic. Revenue went from around $200 million to zero. So when live events rebounded in the summer and fall 2021, SeatGeek went for the SPAC market's shiny ring of guaranteed money at a good price. Last October it signed an agreement with RedBall, a SPAC formed by pro sports executive Billy Beane and private equity investor Gerry Cardinale, at an implied $1.35 billion valuation. By late spring 2022, SeatGeek was reporting record revenue but the SPAC market was tanking. Investors were rushing to redeem shares, almost regardless of the acquisition target. By early June the deal was dead, with neither side willing to stomach renegotiation. Fast forward: SeatGeek expects to surpass $400 million in revenue this year, and doesn't plan to raise more private capital. It might have tried to go public now, absent the new funding, were that a viable option (oh Instacart, an IPO market turns its lonely eyes to you). The bottom line: In a few years we should remember to compare the performance of companies that went public via SPACs versus those that almost did but then didn't.     The BFD Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios   Arm, the British chipmaker owned by SoftBank, yesterday sued Qualcomm for breach of contract and trademark infringement. Why it's the BFD: This comes on the heels of reports that Qualcomm would seek to buy an ownership stake in Arm, whose prior agreement to be acquired by Nvidia was scrapped and whose IPO has been postponed. It's now very hard to see that deal coming to fruition. Details: Arm's complaint centers around Qualcomm's $1.26 billion acquisition last year of NUVIA, a semiconductor startup founded by ex-Apple and Google engineers. In short, Arm argues that NUVIA should have stopped using licensed tech from Arm after being bought by Qualcomm. Unsurprisingly, Qualcomm has a different point of view. As Reuters puts it: "If Arm's effort is successful it would essentially unwind one of Qualcomm's biggest strategic acquisitions in recent years." The bottom line: Qualcomm and SoftBank had been longtime friends, with the U.S. chipmaker even investing in SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund 1. But those ties began to weaken once Qualcomm ousted CEO Paul Jacobs in 2018, and this lawsuit breaks them entirely.     Venture Capital Deals 🚑 JenaValve, an Irvine, Calif.-based developer of transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems, raised $100m in Series C funding. Bain Capital Life Sciences led, and was joined by Pictet, QIA, Innovatus Capital Partners, Peijia Medical and insiders Andera Partners, Valiance Advisors, Gimv, Cormorant Asset Management, RMM, and Venture Incubator. https://axios.link/3TrrdM5 • Planted, a Swiss alt-chicken maker, raised around $72m in Series B funding led by L Catterton. https://axios.link/3TszvmZ • Alloy, a New York-based identity operating system for the financial sector, raised $52m at a $1.55b valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Avenir Growth co-led, and were joined by insiders Canapi Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Avid Ventures, and Felicis Ventures. www.alloy.com • OneSignal, a San Mateo, Calif.-based customer engagement platform and mobile push notification firm, raised $50m in Series C funding. BAM Elevate led, and was joined by Nimble Partners and insiders SignalFire and Zach Coeliusa. www.onesignal.com • Fairmatic, a fleet insurance startup, raised $42m in Series A funding. Foundation Capital led, and was joined by Aquiline Technology Growth. www.fairmatic.com • OpenStore, a Miami-based rollup of Shopify merchants, raised $32m in new funding led by Lux Capital. www.open.store • Everphone, a Berlin-based "smartphone-as-a-service" startup, raised over $32m in Series C extension funding (round total now $97m) led by Cadence Growth Capital. www.everphone.com 🚑 98point6, a Seattle-based virtual primary care company, raised over $20m from L Catterton and Activant Capital. www.98point6.com • Topi, a Berlin-based provider of installment financing for B2B hardware, raised $15m in equity and $30m in debt from Index Ventures, Creandum and TriplePoint Capital. https://axios.link/3B23uKY • VRGL, a Dallas-based wealth management analytics startup, raised $15m in Series A funding. MissionOG and FINTOP Capital co-led, and were joined by Sallyport Investments, Checchi Capital, Dynasty Financial Partners, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Flyover Capital, Fin Capital and Compound Capital. www.vrglwealth.com • FX HedgePool, a P2P matching platform for institutional foreign exchange transactions, raised $8m in Series A funding. Information Venture Partners led, and was joined by FISV and National Bank of Canada. https://axios.link/3TtZKZY • Luabase, a Philadelphia-based developer of a "modern data stack for blockchain," raised $4.5m in seed funding from backers like Costanoa Ventures and 6th Man Ventures. www.luabase.com 🚑 Klar Smile, an Indonesian dental care startup, raised $4.3m co-led by AC Ventures and East Ventures. https://axios.link/3ebNE7N • Clockwork, a decentralized automation network for Solana, raised $4m in seed funding. Multicoin Capital and Asymmetric co-led, and were joined by Solana Ventures and El Cap Ventures. https://axios.link/3wIWfFf • OVO Automotive, an Israeli "vehicle infotainment-as-a-service" startup, raised $3.5m led by Regah Ventures. https://axios.link/3RcoXXp • IPiD, a Singaporean cross-border payments startup, raised $3.3m in seed funding from Rapyd Ventures, Jungle Ventures and 1982 Ventures. https://axios.link/3pVmUer • Mermade Seafoods, an Israeli developer of cultivated scallops, raised a $3.3m in seed funding from OurCrowd, Fall Line and Sake Bosch. https://axios.link/3KyiUd4 🚑 Thalamos, a British provider of digital solutions for emergency mental health, raised $1m in seed funding from Ascension, Syndicate Room and a Seedrs crowdfund. www.thalamos.co.uk     A message from Axios NEW: Subscribe to Axios Codebook     Decode key cybersecurity news and insights. Dive into breaking news and long-term trends in the field, from ransomware and phishing to privacy and data protection to national security and disinformation. Subscribe for free     Private Equity Deals • Brightstar Capital acquired WindsorOne, a Petaluma, Calif.-based maker of fabricated wood products for interior and exterior applications. www.windsorone.com • Fortis, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based packaging firm owned by Harvest Partners, bought Digital Dogma, a Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based maker of pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves and flexible packaging. www.fortissolutionsgroup.com • H.I.G. Capital acquired CPS Building Services, a British provider of of mechanical and electrical services. www.cpsbuildingservices.co.uk 🚑 Kain Capital invested in MY DR NOW, an Arizona provider of primary and specialty care. www.mydrnow.com 🚑 Permira and the Marcucci family acquired and will merge blood plasma companies Kedrion (Italy) and Bio Products Lab (U.K.). https://axios.link/3R9klkX 🚑 SOC Telemed, a Dallas-based portfolio company of Patient Square Capital, acquired Forefront Telecare, a Hamilton, N.J.-based virtual behavioral health care company, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3B1BJCy     SPAC Stuff ⚡ DT Cloud Acquisition, a a SPAC formed by KX Power execs, filed for a $60m IPO. https://axios.link/3AGny4e     Liquidity Events • Glow Recipe, a New York-based skincare brand backed by North Castle Partners, hired Goldman Sachs to seek a buyer for between $400m and $500m, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3RvXsbb 🚑 Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) completed its $675m acquisition of Affera, a Newton, Mass.-based cardiac mapping and ablation tech company that had raised over $80m from Bain Capital Life Sciences, Elysia Capital, Innogest Capital, BAMCAP and Norwich Ventures. www.affera.com • Platinum Equity is seeking a buyer for Toronto-based customs broker Livingston International, which could fetch more than $1b, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3cG0LxK     More M&A • Apex Group acquired the alternative fund administration business of Brazil's Modal Group. www.apexgroup.com 🚑 Bupa of London hired Macquarie Capital to find a buyer for its New Zealand nursing homes unit, per The Australian. www.bupa.co.nz 🚑 CVS (NYSE: CVS) hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Chicago-based benefits administration tech unit BSwift, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3cAzGvR • Jeld-Wen (NYSE: JELD), a Charlotte-based window and door maker, hired Macquarie Capital to find a buyer for its Australasia business, which could fetch around A$1b, per The Australian. www.jeld-wen.com • PT Indosat is seeking to sell a portfolio of 1,800 mobile telecom towers, which could fetch around $250m, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3cJsCNg 🐄 Walmart (NYSE: WMT) acquired a minority stake in Nebraska-based Sustainable Beef. https://axios.link/3pZivXN     Fundraising Initialized Capital earlier this week announced a leadership shakeup, after firm co-founder and managing partner Garry Tan agreed to become president and CEO of Y Combinator. But not all of its limited partners are thrilled by the news. Multiple LP sources say they're unsettled by the switch, having viewed Tan as the firm's top investor and the primary reason they committed to $700m in new funds in late 2020 and early 2021. As one said: "It's a total mess." Tan is a keyman on those vehicles, whose investor bases are heavy on endowments, although there's no word yet on if LPs will hold a vote to halt new deals. An Initialized spokesperson declined to comment. ⚡ Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners raised around $3b for an energy transition fund. www.cip.dk • Stafford Capital Partners of London raised €731m for its fourth infrastructure secondaries fund. https://axios.link/3TC6K79     It's Personnel • Mark Langer joined Dallas-based PE firm CenterOak Partners as a managing director. He previously was with Heartwood Partners. www.centeroakpartners.com • Jared Speicher joined MetLife to lead private equity and credit investments. He previously served in a similar role for the state of New Jersey. https://axios.link/3cA9xgK • Samir Shah stepped down as COO of Pantera Capital after just two months in the job. https://axios.link/3CSve66     Final Numbers Data: ADP and St. Louis Fed; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios The 2020 recession maybe wasn't as bad as we thought, Axios' Felix Salmon writes.     A message from Axios NEW: Subscribe to Axios Codebook     Decode key cybersecurity news and insights. Dive into breaking news and long-term trends in the field, from ransomware and phishing to privacy and data protection to national security and disinformation. Subscribe for free   ✅ Thanks for reading Axios Pro Rata! Please ask your friends, colleagues and ticket scalpers to sign up. Why stop here? Let's go Pro. Learn more about Axios Pro corporate subscriptions, and why hundreds of companies read Pro newsletters every day.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. 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