PitchBook News - Klarna files for long-awaited IPO

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The Daily Pitch: VC

November 14, 2024

Presented by Golub Growth

Today's Top Stories

Pharma services deal frenzy strikes

PE investment in pharma services companies shot up in Q3, hitting a pace not seen since 2021, according to PitchBook's Q3 2024 Pharma Services PE Update.

Our analysts predicted the pickup for two reasons: PE dealmaking has accelerated with an increasingly favorable financing environment, and pharma services has become a high-priority target for many healthcare PE investors.

The current pace should continue into 2025. Site management organizations, which help manage clinical trials, are one of the categories to watch next year. Get the report.

Also...

🛒 Swedish buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna filed for its US IPO, aiming for a valuation between $15 billion and $20 billion. The SoftBank and Silver Lake-backed fintech company's recovery comes amid a broader rebound for European IPOs, though it faces challenges from governance issues and growing regulatory scrutiny. Full story.

🥡 Marc Lore's Wonder snapped up Grubhub for $650 million, including $500 million in debt. That's a steep loss for owner Just Eat Takeaway, which bought Grubhub for $7.3 billion in 2021 and will pocket no more than $50 million from the deal. Grubhub joins Blue Apron as part of Wonder's budding foodtech empire. Go deeper.

💶 UK asset manager ICG raised $10 billion in the six months ended Sept. 30, making it the firm's second-best six months in fundraising. European PE mega-funds—defined as €5 billion or above—have already taken in more cash than last year. Read more.

AI helps infrastructure SaaS keep grip on long-term gain

Generative AI is still pushing infrastructure SaaS forward. While growth slowed in Q3 with deal value down to $3.8 billion from Q2's $4 billion, the AI-driven rebound has pushed year-over-year deal value up 130.8%. The largest deals were for AI companies: Glean's $260 million Series E and Magic's $320.8 million Series C.

PitchBook's latest Emerging Tech Research spotlights the segments AI is energizing, such as AI-assisted software development startups—companies using tools like coding assistants to fast-track specific processes. The report examines the growing segment, profiling companies like Codeium that are poised to capitalize on the growing AI excitement.

read the preview

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A message from Golub Growth

Growth is hard but Golub Growth can make it easier

Golub Growth has over a decade of specialized experience providing financing solutions to growing #SaaS companies.

Learn more about Golub Growth's partnership-driven approach.

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CoreWeave secures $650M secondary sale as it eyes 2025 IPO

(SOPA Images/Getty Images)

CoreWeave, a GPU cloud computing provider, closed a $650 million secondary sale, the latest example of an IPO candidate generating liquidity for its shareholders and employees.

Jane Street, Magnetar and Fidelity led the transaction with participation from Cisco, Coatue, BlackRock and others.

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Tracking public PE firms' performance

Public US PE firms are strategically tapping into infrastructure, private wealth and credit markets to capitalize on current trends. KKR, Apollo, Carlyle, Blackstone, TPG and Blue Owl are making bold moves, from AI investments to record wealth inflows, to strengthen their positions in these expanding sectors.

Read more in our US PE Earnings Dashboard, which tracks trends in key performance metrics for public US PE firms.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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801

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Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2019 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

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Top Quartile IRR

20.13%

0.17x

Median DPI

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Blockchain Coinvestors Fund I

Franklin Park International Fund 2019

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VC Deals

Biotech startup Metsera, which develops obesity treatments including GLP-1 injections, raised a $215 million Series B led by Wellington Management and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners.

Defense tech startup Chaos Industries, based in Los Angeles, raised a $145 million Series B led by Accel.

Recogni, a startup which builds infrastructure for generative AI data centers, raised a $102 million Series C led by Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures. NYSE-listed Juniper Networks also invested in the round and launched a collaboration with the company.

Mintifi Finserve, which develops a supply chain financing platform, could raise up to $100 million from Prosus in a round that would value the startup at $1 billion, Mint reported.

Bay Area-based biotech company TRexBio, which develops medicines using T cells, raised an $84 million Series B led by Delos Capital.

Enterprise data management startup Conduktor raised a $30 million Series B led by RTP Global.

Klim, a sustainable agriculture platform, raised $22 million in a Series A led by BNP Paribas.

Ecojet, a new airline aiming to become the world’s first zero-emission commercial carrier, has raised £20 million in a round led by industrialist Dale Vince, Sky News reported.

Sympower, an Amsterdam-based startup offering energy flexibility services, has secured €21.3 million in an oversubscribed Series B1 led by A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund and supported by the European Investment Fund.

Lexham Partners, a new investment vehicle founded by Dominic Perks, co-founder of Hambro Perks, is in talks to acquire a multimillion-pound stake in digital-only lender Atom Bank from existing investors, Sky News reported.

PE Deals

Dental service organization MB2 Dental raised $525 million from Warburg Pincus in a recapitalization.

JobNimbus, a Utah-based developer of project management software for the roofing industry, raised $330 million from Sumeru Equity Partners.

Vecos, a Netherlands-based smart locker software developer, has been acquired by Ardian.

Volo Sports, which offers an app for recreational sports, was acquired by sports-focused PE firm Bluestone Equity Partners.

IT Management Solutions, which provides IT support for small to midsize businesses, was acquired by Worklyn Partners.

Key trends shaping the future of Impact and ESG

Our fifth annual Sustainable Investment Survey reveals a compelling shift in the investment landscape: Despite the controversies surrounding ESG and Impact, practitioners are not just adapting but innovating. With insights from over 1,000 global respondents, including asset owners, VCs and family offices, this survey uncovers the strategies and motivations driving ESG and Impact practitioners. We also delve into the perspectives of those who have opted not to incorporate ESG into their investment programs, shedding light on their rationale and decision-making processes.

Our Sustainable Investment Survey is just one of many ESG and Impact research efforts we provide to help investors create a double bottom line of financial returns and positive social or environmental impact. PitchBook Research helps our customers navigate complexity across the entire investment cycle, including contextualizing sustained trends in evolving spaces such as ESG.

Download our report.

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Portfolio Companies

23andMe laid off 40% of its workforce and is closing the drug development unit of the business. The company had been backed by Sequoia Capital before its 2021 IPO.

Exits

Fine Today, a Japan-based personal care products company backed by CVC Capital Partners, is planning to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at an estimated market value of ¥219.4 billion (about $1.4 billion).

Biotheus, a China-based drug manufacturer that focuses on cancer treatment, has been acquired by biotech company BioNTech in a $950 million transaction.

The natural gas and midstream assets of Aethon Energy Management are in talks to be put up for sale or go public at a $10 billion valuation, Reuters reported.

AI coding startup Supermaven, based in San Francisco, was acquired by fellow AI coding developer Anysphere.

Alpaca ML, which develops generative AI tools to create images, has been acquired by AI video startup Captions, Axios reported.

SPS, a private markets data provider, has been acquired by With Intelligence from Bain & Company.

Fundraising

Eastern Europe and Turkey-focused Earlybird Digital East rebranded to Bek Ventures and launched its third fund targeting $250 million.

Investors

Brigade Capital will receive $300 million from Blackstone for the hedge fund's new private credit strategy, Reuters reported.

TPG will invest in tech-focused growth firm Demopolis Equity Partners.

Paris-based Andera Partners has appointed Gonzalo Boada to open a new office in Madrid.

Corporate M&A

Seven & I Holdings, the company behind 7-Eleven in Japan, is considering taking itself private in a ¥9 trillion ($58 billion) transaction, Bloomberg reported.

Volkswagen has increased its investment in electric vehicle maker Rivian to $5.8 billion after initially committing to invest $5 billion earlier this year.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q3 2024 Global M&A Report

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PitchBook News - Klarna files for long-awaited IPO

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