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The Daily Pitch: VC

May 20, 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 analysts find quarterly deal value in the crypto sector ticked upward for the first time since 2021

PE acquirers continue sheltering in payments fintech deals

The 10 most active VC investors in climate tech

Median VC valuations rose in Q1, but only modestly

Today's Top Stories

Crypto dealmaking springs back

Crypto dealmaking may finally be bouncing back, with quarterly deal value ticking upward for the first time since 2021, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research. In Q1 2024, $2.4 billion was generated across 518 deals—quarter-over-quarter increases of over 40% and nearly 45%, respectively.

Senior analyst Robert Le highlights the factors pushing the sector forward, along with new areas of focus for investors. These include startups specializing in data integrity and privacy, as well as blockchain tech for social media.

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Payment specialists bump up fintech M&A

(JulPo/Getty Images)

While PE buyout dealmaking shows new signs of life, certain subsectors of fintech have been especially fertile territory for PE buyers.

"We believe that payments companies are likely fetching premium multiples because payments businesses have a natural embedded inflation hedge," said James Ulan, PitchBook's emerging technology lead analyst.

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VC-backed companies narrowly guard valuations

Though median VC valuations rose in Q1 across all stages, those prices were only modestly higher than companies' prior valuations, according to our US VC Valuations Report, sponsored by Morgan Stanley at Work.

Companies are also exiting at low step-ups and occasionally taking large haircuts—as was the case in Reddit's IPO, which priced about 40% below its $10 billion valuation from 2021.

In the growing secondary markets, shares are trading at a 28% discount on average.

Flat and down rounds continue to rise as a share of all VC deals, hitting 27.4% in Q1.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

4

VC valuations

302

People

91

Companies

8

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2017 Vintage Global VC Funds

Median IRR

19.00%

Top Quartile IRR

25.86%

0.23x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Flagship Pioneering Fund VI

Alta Partners NextGen Fund I

3one4 Capital Fund II

*IRR: net of fees

64 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Spiro, an African EV startup with offices in Rwanda, Togo and Benin, has secured a $50 million debt facility from African Export-Import Bank.

Los Angeles-based AI legal transcription startup Steno has raised $46 million in new funding from undisclosed investors.

Equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance startup, AssetWatch, which is based in Ohio, has raised a $38 million Series B led by Wellington Management.

Keyper, a rent now, pay later startup based in Dubai, has received $34 million in combined equity and debt financing from Franklin Templeton Investments Middle East Venture Partners and BECO Capital.

Paris-based Gorgias, which provides an AI customer experience platform, has raised a $29 million Series C2 from Shopify and other undisclosed investors.

Singapore-based Osome, received a $17 million Series B for its bookkeeping and accounting platform.

German cloud coding startup Codesphere has raised €16.5 million in a round led by Creandum.

Stockholm-based Leya, has secured $10.5 million in a round led by Benchmark for its AI-powered legal assistant.

Don't miss our upcoming Tech Talks webinar

After soaring to dizzying heights during the COVID-19 pandemic, gaming investments have returned to earth and reached a new steady state. Q1 2024 presented modest increases in deal value while deal count reached parity with Q4 2023.

As the midpoint of 2024 approaches, PitchBook gaming analyst Eric Bellomo sits down with a panel of leading gaming investors to discuss expectations for the coming year, key trends within the sector, and sub-segments that are demonstrating meaningful innovation. Key topics include:

Foundational elements of gaming that separate it from other categories of technology and entertainment.

Emerging trends investors and startups must be mindful of within this steady state.

Key industry insights from years of working within games.

Register now to secure your spot.

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PE Deals

General Atlantic and CCPIB are readying a €3 billion ($3.26 billion) bid for EQT-backed Idealista, a Spanish online real estate firm.

Elliott Investment Management and Vista Equity Partners-backed cloud computing company Cloud Software Group is exploring a sale of Citrix’s content management platform ShareFile at a $1.5 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

H.I.G. Capital is weighing a bid for Spanish network carrier Avatel Telecom that would value the company at up to €700 million (approximately $761 million), Bloomberg reported. PAI Partners and Searchlight Capital Partners may also take part in bidding in the second round.

Brookfield Asset Management is planning to purchase a majority stake in Leap Green Energy, an Indian renewable power company backed by The Rohatyn Group, for about $500 million, Bloomberg reported.

Dawson Partners has financed a $425 million structured liquidity solution deal for Churchill Asset Management, an investment affiliate of Nuveen, to return cash to Churchill investors.

Battery Ventures has agreed to take-private TrueContext, a workflow software provider listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Argos Wityu plans to acquire German bakery chain Karl Schmidt from Odewald KMU.

Wise Equity has agreed to acquire Casa della Piada, an Italian maker of specialty bread, from Aksìa.

Exits & IPOs

KKR-backed OneStream, a corporate performance-management specialist, has confidentially filed for an IPO and is seeking a valuation of up to $6 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Software company Snowflake's VC arm, Snowflake Ventures, is in talks for a $1 billion deal to acquire Reka AI, a VC-backed large language model creator, according to Bloomberg.

Investment Corporation of Dubai-backed Alec, a construction and engineering company, is planning an IPO, Bloomberg reported.

Seoul-based MBK Partners is planning to sell its stake in Chinese health spa operator Shanghai Siyanli Industrial, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

Buyout firm Kedaara Capital has raised a record $1.7 billion fund. Kedaara is backed by Clayton Dubilier & Rice.

Paris-based ODDO BHF Private Equity raised €715 million for its second fund targeting secondaries.

Stockholm-based early-stage impact investor Norrsken VC has raised €320 million for its second flagship fund.

Cultivation Capital, which is based in St. Louis and invests in agtech and fintech, is raising $14 million for its third seed-stage fund, according to SEC filings.

Corporate M&A

Swiss engineering group ABB has agreed to buy the wiring accessories unit of its German peer, Siemens.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q3 2023 Global Fund Performance Report (with preliminary Q4 2023 data)

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PitchBook News - Payment specialists bump up fintech M&A

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