Lawyers unfazed by new antitrust guidelines

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The Daily Pitch: VC

July 21, 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:

New antitrust guidelines aren't likely to help US regulators block more mergers

CVC Capital Partners has broken records with a $29 billion close on its largest fund yet

HighVista's acquisition of Abrdn's US private markets business will nearly double its AUM

Blackstone's $1 trillion in AUM places it leaps ahead of other PE firms

Farizon bags a $600 million Series A, showing parent Geely's commitment to electric vehicles

Today's Top Stories

New antitrust guidelines unlikely to help regulators block deals, lawyers say

FTC chair Lina Khan
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This week federal antitrust regulators released stringent new guidelines for evaluating mergers.

But the guidelines are based on old case law. Attorneys doubt the courts will rely on them closely when adjudicating merger blocks, and they say acquirers are just as likely to win antitrust cases against Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice challenges.

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Fintech stock rebound favors profitable business models

Share prices for recently public fintech companies have been rebounding faster than the wider market. Still, investors are prioritizing profitability, as traditional IPOs have outperformed SPACs. Neobanks, insurtech, proptech and high-growth payments companies are all working to turn a profit, whereas well-funded incumbents are pursuing M&A. A reset almost always favors the strong.

Our Q2 2023 Fintech & Payments Public Comp Sheet and Valuation Guide tracks stock performance, valuations and market caps—as well as forecasts for revenue, EBITDA and earnings per share—for key publicly traded companies. This quarter's guide also includes data from PitchBook's VC Exit Predictor, a tool that forecasts which private companies are most likely to go public or be acquired.

see the data

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A message from SS&C Intralinks

Emerging managers vs. re-ups: Should LPs get out of their comfort zone?

Uncertainty poses a challenging environment for emerging managers as investors tend to gravitate toward larger, well-established firms during times of turmoil. However, volatile markets also present opportunities for alpha generation, which means limited partners (LPs) may be more amenable to considering allocations to emerging managers.

Following a surge of re-up investment, start-up firms with a strong investment proposition are appealing as long as their objectives are clear, their processes are robust and their communication and reporting to LPs is straightforward.

SS&C Intralinks' Emerging Managers vs. Re-Ups explores the challenges and opportunities emerging managers face and the way they should navigate the evolving landscape.

Read the white paper here

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Geely-owned Farizon's $600M round boosts EV market

(VCG/Shutterstock)

Farizon, the electric commercial vehicle unit of China's Geely, has raised a $600 million Series A. Geely, which also owns Volvo, is furthering its VC-funded push into electric vehicles, even as overall investment in the sector has slowed this year due in part to rising interest rates cutting into consumer spending.

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Blackstone's $1 trillion hoard propels it beyond US peers

Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
(Horacio Villalobos/Getty Images)

The sprawl of Blackstone—already the world's largest alternative assets manager—reached a new milestone in Q2 as its investments surpassed $1 trillion in AUM, the firm said in its earnings call yesterday. Credit and insurance investments were a major driver of growth over the past 12 months, with its AUM for those strategies rising 11% year-over-year.

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CVC Capital Partners hits $29B close on largest-ever buyout fund

(SOPA Images/Getty Images)

CVC Capital Partners has reached a €26 billion (around $29 billion) final close on its ninth European and Americas fund in just six months, making it the largest-ever buyout fund on record.

The Luxembourg-headquartered firm exceeded its initial target of €25 billion, a total that would have achieved the record by itself.

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HighVista nearly doubles AUM with Abrdn win

(Sean Pavone/Shutterstock)

Alternative asset manager HighVista Strategies is expanding into lower-middle-market PE through its acquisition of Abrdn's US private markets business.

Announced yesterday, the strategic acquisition will nearly double HighVista's AUM, bringing it from around $5 billion to $9 billion. The acquisition will include Abrdn's PE and VC assets and its investment and operational teams.

"As we get down into the smaller end of buyouts, looking at smaller companies, there's a much richer opportunity set for buying great companies at a cheaper valuation," said Caroline Page, partner at HighVista Strategies.

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Recommended Reads

The biggest winners in America's climate law are foreign companies. [The Wall Street Journal]

Hollywood's first dual strikes since 1960 upend lives and livelihoods. [The Washington Post]

Helsing AI is building an operating system for warfare and says it'll only ever sell to democracies. [Wired]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

16

VC valuations

2292

People

631

Companies

30

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2017 Vintage US PE Funds

Median IRR

19.84%

Top Quartile IRR

29.84%

0.5x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Spectrum Discretionary Overage Program

SSC Partners Cantium

Nexus Special Situations II

*IRR: net of fees

93 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Karat, a payments startup for workers in the creator economy, has raised $70 million. The round comprised $40 million in equity led by SignalFire and $30 million in debt from TriplePoint Capital, according to reports.

Aeroseal, a climate-tech startup addressing building air leakage, has raised a $67 million Series B led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Climate Investment.

Indonesian electric vehicle maker Maka Motors has secured $37.6 million in a seed round led by AC Ventures, SV Investment and East Ventures.

Whop, which operates a marketplace for digital goods, has raised a $17 million Series A from investors including Insight Partners and Peter Thiel, TechCrunch reported.

AI logistics company Terminal Industries has raised $17 million in a seed round led by 8VC and Prologis Ventures.

Italian energy storage startup Energy Dome has raised an additional €15 million for its Series B, bringing the round's total to €55 million. Investors included Vopak Ventures and 360 Capital.

Skillit, which operates a recruitment platform for construction labor, has raised $8.5 million in a round led by MetaProp and Bow Capital.

BusRight has raised a $7 million Series A led by Las Olas Venture Capital. The company offers technology for school buses.

Germany's DGG, a developer of 3D optimization software, has secured €4 million in a round led by Iris Capital.

HR startup Zelt has raised $3.5 million in a round led by Episode 1 Ventures and Village Global.

PE Deals

KKR is in talks to acquire specialty chemicals maker Chase for about $1.3 billion, including debt, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Bridgepoint has acquired SK AeroSafety, a UK-based aircraft safety specialist, from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.

TT Capital Partners has made a majority growth investment in Pyx Health. The company's technology and services are intended to help health plans combat loneliness and social isolation.

Aluminum has acquired TrueAbility, which offers a platform for performance-based skill assessment.

Motive Partners has acquired a majority stake in investment data and analytics provider With Intelligence. Intermediate Capital Group has also reinvested in the company.

Hg has made a majority investment in Nomadia, a French provider of SaaS solutions for mobile professionals like technicians and delivery drivers.

Fundraising

Sequoia China is raising around 20 billion yuan (about $2.8 billion) for a new fund, The Information reported.

Mayfield has announced a $250 million seed fund, AI Start, that will invest in early-stage AI companies.

Tokyo-based banking holding company Mizuho Financial Group is planning to launch a 10 billion yen debt fund (about $72 million) for late-stage startups, Bloomberg reported.

J2 Ventures has raised $69 million for its venture fund with a $120 million goal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Chart of the Day

"Paint points from our survey show that entrepreneurs raising a seed round post-accelerator should (1) start building a VC list as early as possible—avoid waiting until after demo day; (2) focus on VCs that invest in their niche and are also actively doing deals."

Source: Quantifying the Success of YC and the Largest Accelerators

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Lawyers unfazed by new antitrust guidelines

Older messages

Has Europe's VC market bottomed out?

ESG difficulties split for Europe, North America

Offshore energy production sets sail

Startups' precarious 2023

US PE's big bounce in exits

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