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| In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find: | | | | | |
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| Surge in leveraged loan bankruptcies pushes default rate to 2-year high | |  | | (TSViPhoto/Shutterstock) | | | The US leveraged loan default rate has remained stubbornly low over the past few years. This has occurred even as steep rate hikes have kicked in—sharply increasing debt-servicing costs for LBO and other borrowers that took on floating-rate facilities earlier in the credit cycle.
That's changing. Three issuers on the Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index filed for bankruptcy protection on the same day—including Envision Healthcare, which has $7.7 billion in outstanding debt. That prompted a spike in the default rate and renewed focus on credit health across the $1.4 trillion asset class. | | | | | | | | | Ranking the most active investors of Q1 | | Private market investors felt the pressure as persistent macro headwinds intensified in Q1. But the PE and VC ecosystems showed resilience as dealmakers found opportunity amid the upheaval.
Who led the way? Our interactive Global League Tables are now available for Q1 2023, covering the full range of private market activity. The tables scope out the most active investors by region, industry, deal type and more, along with ranking advisers, acquirers and law firms. | | | | | | | |
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| PitchBook's 2023 Media Kit released | | With uncertainty across the private and public markets likely to continue, strong and insightful thought leadership is critical to your clients and prospects.
By partnering with PitchBook Media, you will have daily opportunities to reach 1.5M+ industry professionals in our newsletter, and you can broaden exposure of your brand through our core industry reports. We also help clients create custom research to share data-driven insights on the market.
Our 2023 Media Kit contains all the details to help your firm position itself in front of a VC or PE audience.
Click here to download it today or to speak to someone on the media team. | | | | | | | |
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| What Vice's bust says about the future of digital news | |  | | (Joey Schaffer/PitchBook News) | | | With Vice Media filing for bankruptcy protection, its downfall is not only a blow to its backers but also underscores the challenges of turning a profit on digital content in an era of rampant disruption.
In 2017, the group raised $450 million from TPG at a $5.7 billion valuation. Vice's creditors, Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, have now agreed to buy the company for $225 million.
Another digital media group, BuzzFeed, recently shut down the last of its news department; the parent company revealed it would lean more on AI to produce its content. Given the fate of both companies, potential investors of the next big digital media property may be cautious about the future of the business model and what the rise of AI-generated content may bring. | | | | | | | | | Delivery providers take lead among recently public foodtech companies | | Consumers have embraced food and grocery delivery among core foodtech services, and the maturing subsector is consolidating. In Q1, DoorDash increased its market share and beat revenue expectations after making layoffs in Q4 2022. Likewise, delivery services overall are expected to see revenue balloon by 30% this year.
Most segments of the foodtech landscape weren't so rosy, and our Q1 2023 Foodtech Public Comp Sheet and Valuation Guide gathers the latest data on stock performance, revenue forecasts and market caps of key publicly traded companies. | | | | | | | | | | Technology was supposed to transform insurance pricing. Why hasn't it? [The Wall Street Journal]
Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman plans to step down within 12 months, and he's determined to buck Wall Street's history of bitter succession battles. [Financial Times]
Push notifications are getting out of control. [The Atlantic] | | | | | |
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| | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 430 Deals | 2005 People | 612 Companies | 19 Funds | | | | | | |
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The Daily Benchmark:
2019 Vintage Global Debt Funds | | | | | | |
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| Anne Boden, longtime CEO of VC-backed digital banking platform Starling Bank, is stepping down. Boden will remain on the company's board. | | | | | |
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Tools for Humanity, the company behind the Worldcoin crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has raised a $115 million Series C led by Blockchain Capital.
Fintech solutions provider Nymbus has raised a $70 million Series D led by Insight Partners.
Paris-based cybersecurity startup Sekoia.io has raised a €35 million Series A from investors including Banque des Territoires, Bright Pixel and Omnes Capital.
Elementl, the developer of a data orchestration platform, has raised a $33 million Series B led by Georgian.
Poolside has raised $26 million in a seed round led by Redpoint Ventures. The startup will focus on developing AI systems for software creation.
Laced, a London-based online sneaker marketplace, has secured a $12 million Series A led by Talis Capital.
Memcyco, an Israeli provider of brand protection software, has raised $10 million in a round led by Capri Ventures and Venture Guides.
WireMock, which offers tools for building mock APIs, has secured $6.5 million from Ridge Ventures, First Rays Venture Partners and Scribble Ventures.
PSG has made a growth investment in 4me, an IT services software vendor that previously received VC backing from Tornado Capital, Storm Ventures and others. | | | | | |
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Longreach Group-backed medical device manufacturer Quasar, based in Hong Kong, has received bids from PE firms including Boyu Capital, Hillhouse Capital and BPEA EQT, Reuters reported, at a targeted valuation of around $600 million.
PE-backed UK visual effects company Cinesite has acquired The Imaginarium Studios, the performance-capture production company co-founded by actor Andy Serkis, Variety reported.
WestView Capital Partners has agreed to sell Alpha II to TA Associates and reinvest in the company for a minority stake. Alpha II provides revenue cycle management software to the healthcare industry.
GHO Capital Partners-backed Sterling Pharma Solutions, a UK-based supplier to pharmaceutical companies, has received a minority investment from Partners Group. GHO also invested additional capital into Sterling via a consortium led by AlpInvest Partners and Pantheon.
PSA International, a Singapore-based port operator owned by Temasek, has purchased a minority stake in Vietnamese logistics company Sotrans Group from Indo-Trans Logistics.
TowerBrook Capital will reinvest in B2B media group Infopro Digital via its latest flagship fund, retaining control of the company alongside its current management.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has made a minority investment in Aquiline Capital-backed Fullsteam, an Alabama-based business management software provider. | | | | | |
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Casetext, a generative AI startup for the legal industry, is in acquisition talks, Business Insider reported.
B2B payments company Plastiq, which was valued last year at roughly $480 million in a failed SPAC deal, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Priority Technology Holdings plans to acquire the company, following court approval. | | | | | |
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| Generative AI company OpenAI has closed its Startup Fund on $175.25 million, according to an SEC filing. | | | | | |
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