PitchBook News - Q&A: Venture debt post-SVB

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The Daily Pitch: VC

June 2, 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:

We check up on large LBOs financed before the rate-hike era to see how they're faring in today's less-forgiving market.

Raising venture debt is getting harder—and it's not because of Silicon Valley Bank.

Our latest Global Markets Snapshot breaks down one month of trends in the equity, debt and commodities markets.

Today's Top Stories

Q&A: Armentum's John Markell on venture debt post-SVB

(Courtesy of Armentum Partners)

It's easy to blame the challenges of raising venture debt wholly on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, once a leading provider of loans to early- and mid-stage startups. But that's not how John Markell sees it.

As a managing partner at venture debt adviser Armentum Partners, Markell has a front-row seat to the tribulations of the asset class. Bank failures aside, venture debt is becoming more difficult for a variety of reasons: Lenders have tightened standards, private credit firms are prioritizing less risky buyouts and the uncertain outlook for late-stage VC funding has spooked the market.

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How are pre-rate-hike LBOs faring amid skyrocketing debt costs?

(Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)

Recent rate hikes are of special concern to leveraged loan issuers. Leveraged loans are floating-rate debt, so as the base rate soars, so does a loan borrower's cost of servicing its debt.

This can pose a fundamental challenge with LBOs. The success of these deals often depends on strong company performance going forward, as many were structured with aggressive, optimistic adjustments to the target company's EBITDA, such as "add-backs" and "synergies."

So, how might big LBOs that were structured in the pre-rate-hike era be faring in today's less-forgiving market? Some could be in for a rougher ride. By LCD's calculations, a 20% decline in EBITDA could leave some 2021 LBOs with a considerably thinner interest-coverage ratio.

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Venture debt BDCs thrive in VC, bank pullback

(eldar nurkovic/Shutterstock)

Five venture lending business development companies—tracked by PitchBook for our latest public BDC analyst note—posted solid Q1 2023 earnings, fueled by higher benchmark rates and a lender-friendly pricing environment. But ongoing market volatility and the prospect of a recession still pose risks to these venture debt providers.

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May wrap-up: One month in global markets

Our latest Global Markets Snapshot breaks down a month of trends in the equity, debt and commodities markets, tracking returns across a range of indexes and sectors. It also features private market activity, including major deals, fundraising, IPO performance, lending volume and unicorn creation.

In this monthly digest, we provide the datasets that the PitchBook Institutional Research Group is keeping an eye on as markets remain volatile.

read it now

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5 charts: Signs of recovery for French VC are Q1 bright spot in Europe

(Audio und werbung/Shutterstock)

French venture capital has had a strong start to the year, with quarterly figures up for both deal count and value. We've isolated five key trends to illustrate how the country's venture dealmaking, exits and fundraising performed in Q1.

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Recommended Reads

Investors turn to AI-guided dealmaking to gain an edge over rivals. [Financial Times]

Two startups seek to prove that patches may solve the challenge of delivering vaccines to remote locations. [The Wall Street Journal]

Is the luxury sector recession-proof? [The Economist]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

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People

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20

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2012 Vintage Global Secondaries Funds

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VC Deals

Minimax, a Chinese startup developing a generative AI chatbot similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT, is raising over $250 million from investors including a Tencent-linked firm, Reuters reported.

Berlin-based travel booking platform GetYourGuide has raised $194 million in debt and equity. Blue Pool Capital led the $85 million Series F.

Generative AI text-to-video startup Runway is raising roughly $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation from investors including Google, The Information reported.

Measurabl, which offers a real estate-focused ESG platform, has raised a $93 million Series D co-led by Energy Impact Partners and Sway Ventures.

India's Capillary Technologies, a customer loyalty and engagement specialist, has secured a $45 million Series D from investors including Avataar Ventures, Filter Capital and Innoven Capital.

Ceibo has raised a $30 million Series B led by Energy Impact Partners. The Chile-based company develops technology for the mining of copper and other critical minerals.

Hypervision Surgical, a surgical imaging and data analytics platform, has secured £6.5 million from investors including Redalpine and Heran Partners.

Coffee company Chamberlain Coffee has raised $7 million led by its founder, YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, Blazar Capital, and UTA Ventures, according to reports. The startup closed a $7 million Series A in August.

PE Deals

Baird Capital has invested in London-based data consultancy JMAN Group.

Genstar-backed financial services provider Apex Group has closed its acquisition of UK-based Mainspring Fund Services after receiving regulatory approval.

Investment firm Edge Group Global has acquired Italian soccer team Casale FBC, which plays in the Serie D league, in an all-cash deal.

Kian Capital Partners has acquired HVAC distributor Team Air Distributing, the firm's first investment from its third fund.

Portfolio Companies

GenesisCare, which is backed by KKR and China Resources Capital, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas. The Sydney-based radiotherapy cancer treatment company plans to sell its US business.

Exit & IPOs

Thompson Street Capital Partners has sold warehouse management software provider Made4net to Ingka Investments, the investing arm of Ikea Group.

Fundraising

China's Genbridge Capital has held a final close of its second fund on $400 million, Private Equity International reported.

Chart of the Day

Source: 2022 Global Fund Performance Report (as of Q3 2022 with preliminary Q4 2022 data)

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PitchBook News - Q&A: Venture debt post-SVB

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