PitchBook Data News
The Broadsheet, Fortune Most Powerful Women by Kristen Bellstrom, Claire Zillman, and Emma Hinchliffe
FortuneMatterport Inc., whose 3D cameras are used to create virtual real estate tours, on Monday said it will go public in a merger with a "blank check" company that values the combined companies at $2.9 billion. Sunnyvale-based Matterport was valued at $355 million after a March 2019 funding, according to PitchBook Data.
Silicon Valley Business JournalInvestors across the private markets are showing an insatiable appetite for deals related to pro sports. The same is true for deals that capitalize on the booming influencer economy, home to a new generation of teenage celebrities using the power of the smartphone to amass serious social sway.
Total funding increased 13% during the pandemic year-but female founders were left out of the boom.
FortunePayments platform provider Payoneer has agreed to merge with FTAC Olympus Acquisition, a SPAC led by Betsy Cohen, the founder and CEO of The Bancorp. The deal values Payoneer at $3.3 billion and includes a $300 million PIPE investment.
LeaseLock, the developer of an insurtech platform for the real estate industry, has raised $52 million in a round co-led by Westerly Winds and Wildcat Venture Partners. Investors including Mucker Capital and Veteran Ventures Capital also participated. Founded in 2016, the California-based company was valued at $30 million in 2018, according to PitchBook data.
When Audax Group raised $1.7 billion for its so-called "continuation fund" in January, it joined a growing list of PE houses that have started creating liquidity by buying their own portfolio companies. Boston-based Audax's new vehicle bought assets from Audax Private Equity Fund IV, a 2012 vintage fund that launched with $1.25 billion in commitments.
Deal making is expected to rebound in 2021 -but that's no sure bet. Investors should be wary of the amount of debt companies have accumulated during the Covid-19 crisis. For starters, deal volume in 2019 - the world's latest non-pandemic calendar year - was around $2 trillion in North America, according to PitchBook data.
Mobile apps unicorn AppLovin Corp. is doing another acquisition on its way to going public, this time picking up a German startup for $1 billion. This would be the seventh acquisition by the Palo Alto company since 2014, including last year's purchase of neighboring game company Machine Zone for $500 million, a fraction of what that business was once valued at.
Silicon Valley Business JournalRad Power Bikes just announced a $150 million investment to expand its retail footprint and improve its maintenance and repair services. It's one of the largest investments in an e-bike company to date and reflects the growing demand for electric-powered transportation.
The VergeShares of gene-regulation startup Sana Biotechnology Inc surged 40% in their U.S. stock market debut on Thursday, giving the Seattle-based company a market capitalization of $6.38 billion. It offered 23.5 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, raising about $587.5 million in what was the largest-ever IPO for a preclinical biotech company.
KKR plans to raise $15 billion or more for its 13th private equity fund focused on North America, according to Reuters, in what would mark the second-largest vehicle in the firm's history. The fund would surpass a predecessor that closed on $13.9 billion in 2017 but trail a 2006 fund that brought in a firm-record $17.6 billion.
Physna, the developer of a 3D design platform, has raised $20 million in a Series B led by Sequoia, with participation from Drive Capital. The company was valued at $27.9 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data. Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire will join the company's board.
MoneyLion, which offers a mobile financial platform, has considered going public through a merger with a blank-check company, Bloomberg reported. The potential deal could reportedly value the combined company at more than $2 billion. MoneyLion has raised funding from investors such as Capital One Ventures, Edison Partners and Greenspring Associates.
The London Stock Exchange, which completed its $27 billion acquisition of UK data company Refinitiv on Friday, wants more blank-check vehicles to list in the UK, Reuters reported. LSE CEO David Schwimmer said he hopes to replicate New York's success in listing SPACs, which have largely remained a niche strategy in the UK, in a bid to boost London's appeal as a financial center after Brexit.
Good day. Corporate venture investors haven't been deterred by the pandemic, with many corporations keeping up support for their venture divisions, according to a report by data analytics firm PitchBook Data Inc. and the National Venture Capital Association.
Like many aspects of our daily lives in the 21st century, the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting consumers' spending habits. The Coronavirus crisis may have led to permanent changes in consumer behavior, including the manner in which we acquire the products and services we need.
Crowdfund InsiderWith the use of agricultural technology, Vertical Roots farm in West Columbia created a packaging system for its leafy greens that cut down the company's plastic usage by 30% and extends the shelf life of the lettuce. In 2015, high school friends Andrew Hare and Matt Daniels created the idea for Vertical Roots, now the largest hydroponic container farm in the country.
The StateSector-specialist M&A advisory firm Ciesco has reported global resilience in the tech, digital, media and marketing sectors even in the face of the Covid crisis. Ciesco tracked global M&A activity in these sectors, reporting 1,091 M&A transactions in 2020, with announced deal values of $55.9bn.
More About AdvertisingThe European venture capital markets managed to perform reasonably well last year, even though there was a significant slowdown in funding or financing following the COVID-19 outbreak (during Q1 2020 and also leading into Q2 2020), Crunchbase data confirms. Funding provided to European startups during 2020 totaled around $40 billion, down only 4% from 2019 at $41.8 billion.
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