PitchBook News - Juul, Lyft, Lime all plan layoffs

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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 30, 2020

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Today's Top Stories

Juul to cut staff in latest blow to Bay Area tech startups

Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite testifies in front of a Congressional committee in February. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images News)

E-cigarette manufacturer Juul plans to lay off between 800 and 950 employees, or around a third of its staff, as part of a larger restructuring, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Juul's plans are reportedly not connected to the economic downturn that has battered other Bay Area tech companies. In November, Juul announced its intent to lay off 650 employees and committed to cut 2020 spending by $1 billion, according to reports. The company had $2 billion in sales and recorded a loss of $1 billion in 2019, the WSJ reported.

It's estimated that more than 6,000 jobs have been cut by VC-backed tech startups in and around San Francisco since early March, according to job loss tracker Layoffs.fyi. In another large round of layoffs, Lyft, which went public last year, announced plans Wednesday to let go of 982 employees—about 17% of its staff. And scooter and bike rental startup Lime is also considering more layoffs, according to reports.

Juul continues to grapple with federal investigations and allegations that it contributed to a rise in teen vaping. The company stopped brick-and-mortar sales of sweet and fruit-flavored tobacco in late 2018 to curb youth access, although it continues to sell those products online.

The e-cigarette maker's valuation has plummeted from a peak of $38 billion over the last couple of years. Tobacco giant Altria Group took a $12.8 billion stake in Juul in late 2018, but later wrote it down to $4.2 billion.

More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook

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North American M&A deal value falls more than 25% in Q1

Compared to the first quarter of last year, the number of M&A transactions completed in North America ticked up during the first three months of 2020. But the value of those deals plunged more than 25%, a slowdown our analysts expect to continue as the coronavirus outbreak rages on.

Sponsored by KPMG, Liberty GTS and ACG, PitchBook's Q1 2020 North American M&A Report examines the latest data on dealmaking trends in the continent, as well as the pandemic's potential repercussions on M&A activity. Among the highlights:

An absence of mega-deals helped drive down overall deal value in Q1
Healthcare was the only sector to record a year-over-year rise in deal value
A fiscal stimulus in the US could ease concerns of a credit crunch

read it now

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A message from Certent

Compensation & capital management during COVID-19

The pandemic is dramatically changing the status quo for businesses everywhere. Private companies in particular are affected as changes in valuations, capital raises and compensation give rise to concerns across the board.

Certent has produced a market brief exploring how private market players are navigating this complex environment, drawing on PitchBook datasets on valuations, debt/equity proportions and more. In addition, a live webinar with Certent experts discussing option repricing, performance target revisions and more will be held on May 19 to accompany report highlights.

Read the report and register for the webinar

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Our top 13 articles of April

Don't miss our most popular content of the past month:

As oil plunges, bankruptcies loom for private equity portfolio companies

Fed's stimulus offers relief to private equity despite critics' objections

Stripe pockets $600M as business and consumer confidence plummets

China's VC industry bounces back after coronavirus-induced winter

Why SoftBank is parceling off its most prized possession

Investors are cautious on private markets during shutdowns, PitchBook survey shows

Mega-funds thrive despite hard times for small and first-time VCs

While M&A grinds to a halt, many executives plan for future deals

Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez want mergers halted due to COVID-19

Cybercriminals scam three UK PE firms in £1.1M heist

Pay cuts getting worse for lower-level roles at VC-backed companies

A major AR startup stumbled, but users are flocking to the technology

Coronavirus takes toll on Blackstone's earnings, but stock surges

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Recommended Reads

In New York, as well as the rest of the world, ridehailing drivers are doing their best to adjust to a new and dangerous reality. [The New Yorker]

Disturbing revelations have surfaced about the founder of a high-profile surveillance startup's former activities with the KKK. [OneZero]

The story of how the humble surgical mask became the world's most coveted commodity. [The Guardian]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2002 Vintage Global PE Funds
	VC Deals
	Stash pockets $112M
	Mojo Vision nabs new funding
	Niche lands $35M for school search
	Deliverect pulls in $18M Series B
	Fundraising
	Silverton Partners raises $144M for its largest venture fund to date

The Daily Benchmark

2002 Vintage Global PE Funds

Median IRR

17.01%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

26.78%

1.80x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Lime Rock Partners II

OCM Opportunities Fund IVb

Harvest Partners IV

*IRR: net of fees

35 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Stash pockets $112M

Stash has raised a $112 million Series F from investors including LendingTree, T. Rowe Price and Union Square Ventures. The funding values the New York-based company at more than $800 million, according to Bloomberg. Stash offers a personal finance and investment app.

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View 23 competitors »

Mojo Vision nabs new funding

Mojo Vision, a developer of augmented reality contact lenses, has raised more than $51 million in a Series B1 led by NEA. Other investors included Gradient Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Liberty Global Ventures. Greg Papadopoulos, a venture partner at NEA, will join the company's board.

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Niche lands $35M for school search

Pittsburgh-based startup Niche has raised $35 million in a Series C led by Radian Capital, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Allen & Company and Tim Armstrong. The company's platform allows parents and students to search for K-12 schools and colleges; educators can use it for recruiting.

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View 12 competitors »

Deliverect pulls in $18M Series B

Food delivery software startup Deliverect has raised more than €16.2 million (around $18 million) in a round led by OMERS Ventures. The Belgian business operates in cities including London, Madrid, Toronto and New York; it has processed more than 3.5 million orders since being founded in 2018. As part of the deal, OMERS Ventures managing partner Jambu Palaniappan will join Deliverect's board.

Additional Investors:

Newion, SmartFin

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View similar company »

Fundraising

Silverton Partners raises $144M for its largest venture fund to date

Silverton Partners has raised $144 million for its sixth venture fund. About 25% to 30% of the fund's capital will be dedicated to out-of-state investments, but much of it will go toward companies in Texas. The firm will also set aside $17 million for an opportunity fund for pro-rata investments in its "highest potential portfolio companies." Based in Austin, Silverton expects to add 20 to 25 companies to the fund's portfolio and up to eight positions in the opportunity fund.

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View 91 investments »