PitchBook News - Gaming exits could get an extra life

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The Daily Pitch: VC

February 27, 2025

Presented by CIBC Innovation Banking

👾 An extra life for gaming exits may be on the horizon—and not only because of the reported $3.5 billion sale of Niantic's gaming division to Scopely. After hitting an eight-year low, investors are bullish on a rebound, citing improving industry conditions and increased interest from PE investors. Read more

⚡ Blackstone's $5.6 billion energy transition fund defies a sharp decline in fundraising across the sector. The firm continued to deploy capital throughout 2024, making key acquisitions in energy infrastructure and technology. Go deeper

Plus...
• UK PE and VC dealmaking carries on
• PE and debt fund returns outperform

UK dealmaking recovers despite mixed signals

Investor appetite for UK private markets remained high in Q4 2024, despite weaker consumer and business confidence driven by mixed economic signals.

Total PE deal value in the UK reached nearly £40 billion—topping both Q3 and 2023 quarterly levels—while VC rose to £4.4 billion, according to our latest Market Snapshot on the region. Upcoming changes in the carried interest tax plan could influence deal flow and fund structuring in the private markets.

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PE giants are breaking new ground

Our latest US Public PE and GP Deal Roundup covers the record-breaking dealmaking among the seven major US-listed alternative managers in 2024. The Big Seven saw a notable shift from GP stakes to control investments as GP consolidation drove total deal value to an all-time high of $47.6 billion.

The alternative managers also fetched strong returns within their private credit platforms and made significant strides in their perpetual capital strategies—which now account for $1.6 trillion in assets, another record high. This growth represents the increasing importance of the wealth channel, offering capital pools which aren't constrained by the typical decade-long fund life.

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PE, debt fund returns outpace VC, real estate

Wild IRR dispersions between private market strategies are narrowing, but the more level playing field may point toward "a calm before the storm," according to our Global Fund Performance Report.

Recent returns show a narrowing between asset class and outcome. Consider that in Q2 2021, VC booked a one-year IRR of 75.9%. Real estate? Just 16.9%. The top-to-bottom spread winnowed way down by Q2 2024. But the Trump administration's fiscal policies, as well as the actions of the Fed and European central banks, could shake up spreads.

Whether private debt can maintain its hot streak remains to be seen. Led by a standout showing for direct lending, the strategy outperformed through H2 2024. But if declining rates continue, it could pare gains.

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Private equity's steep path to AI

(Chloe Ladwig/PitchBook News)

AI is rapidly changing how PE managers do deals. It is determining which firms will be most competitive, altering the day-to-day jobs of junior staffers and freeing up time for all employees to do more meaningful work.

Early adopters praise the technology, won over by its prowess and the head start it gives them over rivals. They recognize its value in freeing up labor for new challenges.

But at less-established firms, some find the juice is not worth the squeeze.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

10

VC valuations

2503

People

598

Companies

19

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark: 2016 Vintage Global PE Funds between $500M-$1B

Median IRR

20.26%

Top Quartile IRR

26.32%

1.14x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Francisco Agility Fund

Bertram Growth Capital III

Nautic Partners VIII

*IRR: net of fees

37 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Eikon Therapeutics, which develops drugs to treat cancer, raised a $350.7 million Series D from investors including Lux Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, AME Cloud Ventures and more.

Enveda, a biotech company using AI-driven drug discovery to develop medicine for chronic diseases, brought its total Series C funding to $150 million following an investment from Sanofi.

Raise, a startup operating a gift card marketplace platform, raised a $63 million round led by Haun Ventures.

Warsaw-based Nomagic, a provider of AI-powered robotics for warehouses, raised a $44 million Series B led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Relay, based in London, raised a $35 million Series A for its parcel delivery technology. The round was led by Plural.

Bridgetown Research, a startup building AI for due diligence analysis, raised a $19 million Series A led by Accel and Lightspeed.

Subscript, the developer of an AI-driven revenue management platform, raised a $15 million Series A led by Pelion Venture Partners.

Barcelona-based Flanks, which operates a wealth management platform, secured €14 million in a round led by Motive Ventures.

UK-based pet insurer Napo raised a £12 million Series B led by Mercia Ventures.

PE Deals

Arjun Infrastructure Partners is in talks to acquire a minority stake in a portfolio of assets belonging to Data4, which is currently owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and could be valued at around €3.7 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Restaurant chain Dave's Hot Chicken is in talks to be acquired by PE firm Roark Capital in a $1 billion deal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Kharis Capital invested in KoRo, a Germany-based healthy snack maker.

PSG invested in Checkmk, a Germany-based IT monitoring software developer.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners acquired UK offshore wind project Morecambe from Cobra Group and Flotation Energy.

Nextalia is considering selling the Italian wealth tech firm Firstance, valued at around €250 million ($263 million), Bloomberg reported.

Exits

VC-backed Bolt, an Estonia-based company providing rideshare, delivery and scooter rental services, is considering an IPO, Bloomberg reported. The company was last valued at €7.4 billion in 2022.

Milan-based PE firm Nextalia is considering a sale of wealthtech company Firstance in a deal that could value it at around €250 million, Bloomberg reported.

Chinese electric truck maker Zhizi is planning to raise $200 million in an IPO in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.

PAG is considering selling its majority stake in Indian wealth management firm Nuvama, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

Neuberger Berman beat its $800 million target to close NB Real Estate Secondary Opportunities Fund II on $1.05 billion.

Base10 Ventures launched its fourth seed and Series A fund targeted at $450 million, according to SEC filings.

AI startup Perplexity is nearing its $50 million goal for its VC fund focused on early-stage AI startups, CNBC reported.

Chart of the Day

Source: Market Map: Neobanks and BNPL give a boost to retail fintech

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PitchBook News - Gaming exits could get an extra life

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