PitchBook News - Ranking Q1's busiest investors

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The Daily Pitch: VC

May 26, 2023

The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook’s industry-defining research and best-in-class data

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

A surge in the leveraged loan default rate has prompted a renewed focus on credit health across the $1.4 trillion asset class.

Our Q1 2023 Global League Tables rank the top investors, advisers and more across PE and VC.

Recently public foodtech companies are finding a tough market overall, but delivery services have been buoyed by consumer enthusiasm.

Today's Top Stories

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.

see the rankings

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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.

Recommended Reads

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]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

32

VC valuations

2005

People

612

Companies

19

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2019 Vintage Global Debt Funds

Median IRR

11.50%

Top Quartile IRR

15.76%

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Origami Opportunities Fund IV

OrbiMed Royalty & Credit Opportunities III

Chambers Energy Capital IV

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73 Funds in Benchmark »

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People

Anne Boden, longtime CEO of VC-backed digital banking platform Starling Bank, is stepping down. Boden will remain on the company's board.

VC Deals

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.

PE Deals

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.

Portfolio Companies

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.

Fundraising

Generative AI company OpenAI has closed its Startup Fund on $175.25 million, according to an SEC filing.

Chart of the Day

Source: PitchBook's Q1 2023 Global M&A Report

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PitchBook News - Ranking Q1's busiest investors

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Fundraising shows grim start to 2023

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