PitchBook News - A comeback for European VC?

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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 18, 2024

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

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

Our latest European Venture Report covers the ups and down of dealmaking in the region

The 10 busiest VC investors in the fintech space

Our Q1 valuations data for public companies in the foodtech and mobility tech sectors

Oil and gas giants have more cash than ever to throw at untested climate technologies

There is still plenty of value in PE buyouts as a long-term strategy, investors argue

Today's Top Stories

A comeback for European VC?

European VC deal value bounced back in Q1 with an increase of more than 19% year-over-year and more than 16% from Q4. Fewer rounds took place than in the previous quarter as investors prioritized quality over quantity, according to our Q1 2024 European Venture Report, sponsored by J.P. Morgan.

Exit activity for European VC-backed companies has shown little sign of recovery. At its current pace, 2024's exit figures would likely fall below last year's.

read the report

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Bumper profits for oil and gas yield spare cash for climate-tech bets

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Chevron Technology Ventures, the VC arm of Chevron, just closed its biggest fund to date on $500 million after the oil giant recorded its second-highest annual profit margin in a decade.

Chevron's new fund is a sign of things to come: Oil and gas corporations have more spare cash to throw at commercially untested early-stage climate technologies like direct air capture and nuclear fusion, two areas in which Chevron plans to invest.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

17

VC valuations

1977

People

741

Companies

27

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2019 Vintage Global Secondaries Funds

Median IRR

20.59%

Top Quartile IRR

29.20%

0.48x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Landmark Infrastructure Partners II

Banner Ridge Secondary Fund III

Dover Street X

*IRR: net of fees

17 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

KKR has hired Ben van Beurden, the former CEO of Shell, as a senior adviser on energy transition investments. Van Beurden joined KKR on a part-time basis in January, according to reports.

Racheli Kogan has been appointed partner at Israel-based VC firm Symbol.

Uwe Schoenbeck has joined Canaan Partners as a venture partner on its healthcare investment team.

VC Deals

French startup Mistral AI, which develops large language models, is reportedly in talks with multiple investors to raise hundreds of millions in new funding that would boost its valuation past $5 billion.

Finnish satellite operations startup Iceye raised $93 million in growth funding led by Finland's sovereign wealth fund, Solidium.

Danish payments startup Flatpay closed a €45 million Series B led by Dawn Capital.

Anvilogic, an AI cybersecurity startup based in Palo Alto, raised a $45 million Series C led by Evolution Equity Partners.

Montreal-based wind energy startup Eocycle Technologies raised $25 million in a round led by Export Development Canada.

Loft Labs, a San Francisco-based cloud software developer, raised a $24 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures.

Cynomi, an AI cybersecurity startup headquartered in Israel, raised a $20 million Series A led by Canaan Partners.

London's Wagestream raised £17.5 million from investors including British Patient Capital and Northzone for its financial well-being platform.

PE Deals

Bernhard Capital Partners, through its Department of Energy services platform, acquired management and technical consultant SMSI.

SK Networks plans to sell its car rental business, SK Rent-a-Car, to Affinity Equity Partners for around 850 billion South Korean won (about $617 million), according to reports.

State Street is exploring an acquisition of Societe Generale's custody business for more than €1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Graycliff Partners sold Pennsylvania-based Ballymore Safety Products to One Equity Partners.

All Seas Capital made a minority investment in Reducate, which offers an online professional education platform.

Exits & IPOs

Permira is weighing a sale of more than €1 billion for specialty chemicals manufacturer CABB, Bloomberg reported.

EQT is considering options including a stake sale or take-private of Belgian chemical distributor Azelis Group, Bloomberg reported.

NYSE-listed Zuora, a software company which received a $400 million strategic investment from Silver Lake in 2022, is exploring options including a potential sale, Bloomberg reported.

Abu Dhabi's TAQA is in discussion with the three largest shareholders of Spanish energy company Naturgy about a potential takeover, Reuters reported.

Deutsche Beteiligungs has partially exited German logistics software company Solvares by selling a significant stake to Five Arrows.

Equistone Partners Europe agreed to sell Acces Industrie, which rents lifting equipment for the construction industry, to French family office Delmas Investissements & Participations.

Online casino game company Games Global has filed to go public in the United States.

Fundraising

Ares Management is targeting $1.5 billion for its first Ares Specialty Healthcare Fund, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Wellington Management raised $385 million for its first private climate fund dedicated to investing in late-stage VC and growth companies.

London's Acre Impact Capital held a first close of its first climate-focused export finance fund on roughly $100 million.

Canaan Partners added $100 million in new commitments to its biopharmaceutical-focused vehicles.

Healthtech investor SpringTide Ventures closed its Fund II on $65 million.

Crypto-focused P2 Ventures raised $50 million for a fund targeting startups using the Polygon blockchain, according to reports.

Investors

Seedrs, which offers a private investing platform, and Microsoft have launched an AI-focused accelerator for startups called Series AI. The four-week program starts May 1, and six finalists will pitch in front of VCs including Vektor Partners and SFC.

Chart of the Day

"With public markets rising, their valuation multiples are getting more expensive for PE firms to pursue, and opportunities are once again getting scarcer. Nonetheless, three out of the top 10 deals in Q1 were take-privates."

Source: Q1 2024 European PE Breakdown

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PitchBook News - A comeback for European VC?

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