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Trump says US should get piece of TikTok sale price
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| President Trump wants a "very substantial portion" of any TikTok deal to go to the US Treasury. (Doug Mills/Getty Images) |
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President Trump said on Monday he's open to Microsoft or another US company buying TikTok's operations in the US and three other countries, but the US should get a slice of the sale price for clearing the deal. Trump also indicated that he would ban the video-sharing app in the US if a deal is not reached by Sept. 15.
Trump previously floated a ban of TikTok on Friday, which reportedly caused Microsoft to halt its purchase negotiations. After Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Trump spoke on Sunday about the deal, Microsoft confirmed in a statement that talks would continue. The tech giant said it was interested in buying TikTok's operations in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook |
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On the podcast: Breaking down PPP problems
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The US government's Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help small businesses affected by COVID-19 by providing low-interest and forgivable loans. But billions of dollars have also gone to privately backed companies—including those with deep-pocketed investors.
With the PPP set to expire on Saturday, PitchBook executive editor Alexander Davis and senior financial writer James Thorne joined the "In Visible Capital" podcast to discuss the program's impact on the private markets.
Topics include:
- How VC- and PE-backed companies qualified for loans and how they justified accepting the funds
- The preferential tax treatment that PE and VC investors already enjoy
- How to treat the unreliable data from the Small Business Administration, which many companies have already disputed
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A message from the National Science Foundation
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Using artificial intelligence to quickly and accurately perform heart ultrasounds, Caption Health's software guides medical professionals—even without prior training—to perform scans. In July, the California-based company raised $53 million.
Caption Health is one of hundreds of deep technology startups funded each year by the National Science Foundation, a government agency that plays a central role in accelerating discoveries from the laboratory into the marketplace.
Each startup can receive up to $1.75 million to support R&D aligned with commercialization goals. The NSF team is a group of experts drawn from the technology startup and investment community, committed to identifying and supporting these new firms from launch to commercialization.
NSF helps these teams navigate the earliest stages of technology translation and on to marketplace success, investing roughly $200 million annually in small businesses. In the last five years, these companies have gone on to raise billions in follow-on capital, and the portfolio has had nearly 100 exits.
Learn more about NSF funding for deep technology startups today at seedfund.nsf.gov. |
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Surveying sustainable investing practices
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PitchBook is taking the pulse of investors and other private market participants on their incorporation of impact strategies and ESG risk factors. Thanks to everyone who has participated so far to share their firm's approach to sustainable investing and what drives it.
The last day to fill out the survey is Friday, Aug. 7. It will take about 10 minutes, and all who complete the survey will be entered in a prize drawing. For each respondent, PitchBook will also make a donation to World Central Kitchen: |
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Coronavirus crisis sends TechHub into bankruptcy
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TechHub, the London-based provider of a flexible workspace for tech entrepreneurs and startups, has gone bankrupt. The company has struggled amid COVID-19 as members have worked from home, leading to a 75% revenue loss, according to the Financial Times. TechHub's landlord rejected a rescue plan that was agreed upon by its funders, advisers, directors and employees.
Set up in 2010, TechHub has been home to around 5,000 startups, with its tenants reportedly raising more than $1 billion in total funding. Its notable members include Divide, the developer of an app allowing users to switch between their personal and work smartphones, and telehealth startup Babylon Health. |
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RedBird Capital cooks up XFL takeover with The Rock
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Dwayne Johnson is getting back to his gridiron roots.
(Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images) |
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Last week, RedBird Capital Partners teamed up with famed baseball executive Billy Beane to launch a new blank-check company that will seek to buy a professional sports team. Now, the private equity firm is partnering with a professional wrestler turned movie star to acquire an entire league.
A group comprising RedBird, actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and businesswoman Dany Garcia has agreed to pay $15 million for the assets of Alpha Entertainment, the parent company of the XFL, a fledgling professional football endeavor that shut down and filed for bankruptcy this spring in the midst of its first season because of the pandemic. The investors plan to relaunch the league in some capacity.
This was the second version of the XFL attempted by Vince McMahon, the founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, following a prior rendition that played a single season in 2001. Johnson was one of WWE's biggest stars during the 1990s and 2000s.
Before that, Johnson played college football at the University of Miami, and since leaving WWE, he has become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. Garcia is the CEO and chairwoman of The Garcia Companies, which owns a portfolio of consumer brands. She and Johnson were married for a decade before separating in 2007. |
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Despite economic uncertainty, an inability to travel and other roadblocks amid the pandemic, investors are still finding fertile ground to start new hedge funds. [The Wall Street Journal]
In recent weeks, many Silicon Valley tech companies are reckoning more than ever with their lack of diversity. It didn't have to be this way. [Bloomberg]
Norway's state oil fund is a $1.1 trillion powerhouse with a squeaky-clean image. With the appointment of a new CEO, though, the fund has found itself embroiled in a nationwide controversy. [Institutional Investor] |
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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
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4
VC valuations
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732
People
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156
Companies
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2
Funds
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2006 Vintage Global PE Funds with $250M-$500M
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Byju's seeks $400M in new funding
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| Indian edtech company Byju's is close to securing up to $400 million from DST Global in a deal that would value the Bengaluru-based company at $10.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. Byju's was valued at $8.2 billion in January, according to a PitchBook estimate. Its existing backers include General Atlantic, Owl Ventures and InnoVen Capital. |
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Indigo Ag adds $360M to Series F
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| Indigo Ag, a developer of microbial and digital technology designed to support grower profitability, consumer health and sustainable farming, has raised $360 million from investors including Alaska Permanent Fund and Flagship Pioneering. The capital follows a $175 million convertible equity round announced in January and brings the company's total Series F funding to $535 million. Indigo, which was valued at $3.4 billion in 2018, according to PitchBook data, has added Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel to its board. |
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Farmer's Business Network secures $250M
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| Farmer's Business Network, the creator of an agtech platform that uses data science and machine learning to provide product performance, benchmarking and predictive analytics for farmers, has closed a $250 million Series F led by BlackRock. A Bloomberg report pegs the South Dakota-based company's valuation at $1.75 billion with the new funding. Last year, Farmer's Business Network was valued at more than $1 billion, according to PitchBook data. |
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| Singapore-based Grab is seeking to raise $200 million from South Korean private equity firm Stic Investments, according to Bloomberg. Backed by investors including SoftBank and Alibaba, the ridehailing company secured more than $850 million in February. |
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| PMV Pharma has collected $70 million in Series D funding from Avoro Capital, RA Capital Management, Wellington Management Company and existing backers. Founded in 2013 and based in New Jersey, the company develops small-molecule, tumor-agnostic treatments for cancer. PMV was valued at $341.9 million in November, up from a valuation of $215 million in 2017, according to PitchBook data. |
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Palmetto pounces on $29M for clean energy
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| Palmetto, a South Carolina-based solar energy startup, has raised a $29 million Series B from backers including Evergy Ventures, ArcTern Ventures and Shell Ventures. The company provides a fulfillment platform and software designed to help homeowners understand and reduce their energy consumption. Palmetto raised a Series A in 2018. |
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Xpeng lands more cash before US IPO
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Oyo to consolidate Japan units
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| Hotel chain Oyo is combining its Japanese operations and appointing a new CEO for that business, according to Bloomberg. The SoftBank-backed company will reportedly merge its hotel-booking and apartment-rental arms under the name Oyo Japan. Last month, India-based Oyo was said to have closed several provincial offices in Japan, with plans to scale back its Tokyo headquarters. |
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Lord & Taylor files for Chapter 11
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| Department store pioneer Lord & Taylor and its owner, Le Tote, have reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Virginia. The companies had reportedly been operating out of 38 brick-and-mortar locations, which were temporarily shut down in March due to the pandemic. Le Tote, a San Francisco-based clothing rental startup that's backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Hippeau and others, purchased Lord & Taylor from Hudson's Bay for C$99.5 million (about $75 million) in November. |
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Bill Foley seeks $1.2B in SPAC IPO
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| Veteran investor Bill Foley is looking to raise $1.2 billion with the NYSE debut of a new blank-check company named Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. II. The SPAC will target software and fintech businesses, according to Bloomberg. The news comes after Foley raised a reported $1 billion for a similar vehicle in May. |
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BigCommerce boosts IPO price range
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| BigCommerce has set a new expected price range of $21 to $23 per share for its upcoming IPO, up from an original range of $18 to $20. The Austin-based developer of ecommerce software plans to offer more than 9 million shares. New investor Tiger Global plans to buy up to 20% of the shares at the IPO price. |
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Blackbird Ventures lands $356M for fourth fund
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| Blackbird Ventures has raised A$500 (about $356 million) for its fourth vehicle, according to Bloomberg. Operating in Australia and New Zealand, the firm was founded in 2012 to back tech companies across a variety of sectors and stages. Blackbird's portfolio includes design startup Canva, solar tech developer Sundrive and delivery boat company Freightfish. The firm now has more than A$1 billion in assets under management. |
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Electric Capital closes $110M fund
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"While we may have predicted a slight slowdown in exit value and count after 2019 cemented itself as a banner year for exits, the decline has been accelerated by the effects of the pandemic. The exits that did reach the finish line in Q1 2020 did so at broadly lower valuations from the 2019 stats. While the low volume of IPOs ticked the median and bottom quartiles higher, the continued downward move from the top quartile and average tells the story of the current struggles of large IPOs."
Source: PitchBook's Q1 2020 US VC Valuations Report |
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