PitchBook News - Cerberus raising inaugural VC fund

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The Daily Pitch: VC

June 6, 2024

Presented by Dropbox DocSend

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

How the NBA has been making way for institutional investment in pro basketball

Cerberus Capital Management targets hardware and defense with its first dedicated VC fund

Our inaugural 2024 Australia & New Zealand Private Capital Breakdown finds signs of optimism for the region's young private markets

New deals demonstrate Consortium Brand's push to be a major player in its niche area

Some VC-backed startups are quietly making notable strides in biopharma research

Today's Top Stories

Cerberus' inaugural VC fund targets hardware, defense bets

(Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity and credit behemoth known for snapping up stakes in struggling companies, is raising its first dedicated venture fund.

The early-stage vehicle will invest in real-world hardware assets—ranging from startups seeking US defense contracts to AI, quantum and fusion energy technologies, plus supply chain innovations.

Investors have been closely eyeing the defense tech market, where the successes of companies like Palantir and Anduril have amped up interest from previously reluctant players.

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Turned down in a downturn: Funding gap grows for underrepresented founders

Access to early-stage capital grew even more difficult in the past year. DocSend's 2024 Funding Divide Report shows historically underrepresented founders were hit hardest by the slowdown. As some optimism returns to the fundraising marketplace, will these founders be the slowest to feel the turnaround?

Get a first look at the report

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Australia, New Zealand's young private markets face strong headwinds

While still in their early stages, Australia and New Zealand's private markets have not been immune to the challenging dealmaking climate—with PE and VC investments in the region slowing in recent years.

Exit value in both countries has yet to exceed the annual amount invested in PE or VC in any year, according to our inaugural 2024 Australia & New Zealand Private Capital Breakdown, sponsored by J.P. Morgan.

But optimism remains. The number of investors and amount of capital available for startups overall has grown significantly in the past decade, while PE dealmaking is still registering above 2020's levels.

read the report

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Startups look to rev up automotive software

The automotive industry is at an inflection point: Driven by electric vehicles, a digital transformation powered by software is underway. For traditional automakers, the transition has been bumpy.

Startups, though, may hold the key to carmakers' desire to fast-track software development and deployment.

In our latest Emerging Tech Research, senior analyst Jonathan Geurkink explores the approaches Tesla and various Chinese companies have taken, why they've been successful and what startups can learn from them to capitalize on the automotive software transformation.

read it now

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Promising progress toward a cancer vaccine

Developing a cure for cancer is a holy grail of biopharmaceutical research—and some clinical trials have begun to show promising signs, according to our Q1 2024 Biopharma Report. Drug researchers are incorporating new technologies like mRNA into vaccine development.

As well as the major partnerships between pharma and biotech, like Moderna's collaboration with Merck, some venture-backed companies are quietly making notable strides: Corner Therapeutics and Infinitopes are two startups to watch.

read the preview

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Brand experts-turned-investors bet on specialty retailers

(Courtesy of Outdoor Voices)

Consortium Brand Partners, a specialized buyout firm focused on acquiring consumer brands, set out just a couple years ago to be a major player in its niche area of B2C investing.

In September, the firm struck a deal to acquire majority control of Draper James, a fashion and lifestyle brand founded by Reese Witherspoon. And Monday, the New York-based firm unveiled its latest move in specialty retail: It's adding to its portfolio Outdoor Voices, the athleisure brand created by Tyler Haney.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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795

Companies

29

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2021 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

9.35%

Top Quartile IRR

15.29%

0.03x

Median DPI

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Capital Dynamics Transaction Partners 2021

Franklin Park Corporate Finance Access Fund

Mantra Primary Opportunities II

*IRR: net of fees

38 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

India-based Fibe, a fintech startup providing short-term personal loans, raised a $90 million Series E led by TR Capital, Trifecta Capital and Amara Partners.

Pika, a Bay Area-based startup using AI to create video from text prompts, raised an $80 million round, The Washington Post reported.

San Francisco-based Eko Health, a biotech company using AI to detect heart and lung disease, raised a $41 million Series A from investors including Artis Ventures and Highland Capital Partners.

GetWhy, a Copenhagen-based provider of AI-enabled consumer insights, closed a $34.5 million Series A from PeakSpan Capital.

Hypr, a New York-based company developing password-less identity security methods, raised a $30 million round from Silver Lake.

Sixfold, a startup using AI to develop tools for insurance underwriters, raised a $15 million Series A led by Salesforce Ventures.

Turkish fintech startup Sipay raised a $15 million Series A led by Anfa.

Plancraft, a German provider of tools to help artisans digitize their work processes, completed a €12 million Series A led by Creandum.

SiTration, a Massachusetts-based startup specializing in the extraction of raw materials for use in clean energy devices, raised an $11.8 million seed round led by 2150.

Zurich-based semiconductor AI startup Synthara secured $11 million in a round led by Vsquared Ventures.

PE Deals

Sportswear brand Champion has been acquired by PE-backed Authentic Brands Group after Hanesbrands sold the company for $1.2 billion. The transaction amount could potentially rise to $1.5 billion dependent on meeting performance thresholds.

Apollo Global Management has bought a 49% stake in Fab 34, a joint venture operating a processor manufacturing facility in Ireland, from Intel for $11 billion.

Swisscom's Italian division Fastweb has agreed to sell its 4.5% stake in Telecom Italia's fiber network to KKR for €439 Million.

Merchandising and distribution services provider Spar Group will be acquired by Highwire Capital, a Dallas-based PE and VC firm. Spar has been listed on Nasdaq since the company's IPO in 1996.

Advent International has made a growth investment in Prometheus Group, a portfolio company of Genstar Capital that specializes in management software for large mining, gas and oil plants.

100% Chiropractic, an Arizona-based chiropractic and wellness clinic, received a growth investment from PE firm Red Iron Group.

Exits & IPOs

Qatar Investment Authority agreed to buy a 10% stake in China Asset Management, one China's biggest mutual fund managers, from Primavera Capital for round $490 million, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia's Fakeeh Care Group saw its share price rise by more than 10% during its first day of trading yesterday after raising 2.86 billion riyals (around $763 million) in Riyadh's largest IPO so far this year.

US data research company LexisNexis Group has acquired Henchman, a VC-backed company based in Belgium that offers an AI-powered platform for drafting legal documents.

Health Market Solutions, a health insurance marketplace selling Affordable Care Act plans, has been acquired by Alliant Insurance Services.

Fundraising

StepStone has raised a $3.3 billion fund targeted at VC secondaries. This is StepStone's sixth and largest VC-targeted fund.

Lime Rock New Energy has launched a new fund targeted at $800 million, according to SEC filings. Lime Rock prefers to invest in companies working with renewable energy and decarbonization.

Minneapolis-based PE firm Yukon Partners has closed a $765.2 million fund targeted at providing mezzanine financing to middle-market companies.

Bay Area-based VC firm Ulu Ventures has launched a new VC fund targeted at $190 million, according to SEC filings.

Hakluyt Capital, the investment arm of Hakluyt, has reached a final close on its first fund, exceeding its target raise of $50 million.

London-based Backfuture Ventures has launched a $10 million fund to invest in early-stage SaaS startups.

Corporate M&A

WalkMe, the formerly VC-backed provider of a digital adoption platform that has been listed on the Nasdaq since its 2021 IPO, will be acquired by SAP for about $1.5 billion.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q1 2024 Global Private Market Fundraising Report

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PitchBook News - Cerberus raising inaugural VC fund

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