SoftBank embraces shift to asset management

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The Daily Pitch: VC

August 12, 2020

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SoftBank rebounds, turns to asset management

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (Image courtesy of SoftBank)

SoftBank is increasingly taking on the look of an asset manager as it ventures ever further from its origins as a telecom giant.

In announcing a new asset-management initiative, the company also revealed a sharp rebound in quarterly profits.

Just three months after posting the worst quarterly loss in its history, SoftBank reported net income of 1.26 trillion yen (about $11.8 billion) for the quarter ending June 30. The main drivers for the turnaround were one-time gains on asset sales, including the $34 billion SoftBank received from selling T-Mobile shares, and a recovery in its publicly listed stock holdings.

Benefitting from that rebound in prices, the company said its tech-focused Vision Fund posted an investment gain of about $2.8 billion.

Building on its work with the Vision Fund, SoftBank's asset-management initiative has already taken stakes in Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

The Japanese conglomerate also confirmed the Vision Fund is done making new investments. The $100 billion vehicle's remaining capital will be reserved for follow-on investing in existing portfolio companies, and other expenses.

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Airbnb prepares for IPO filing later this month

Brian Chesky's Airbnb could file confidentially for a public offering by the end of August. (Kimberly White/Getty Images)

After months of speculation, Airbnb is planning to file confidentially for an IPO later this month, according to reports.

News of a potential market debut follows a dismal couple of months for Airbnb, as the pandemic thwarted plans for its much-awaited public listing. In May, the vacation rental company announced it intended to cut costs, laying off about 25% of its workforce after a pandemic-fueled global travel halt caused bookings to plummet. At the time, CEO Brian Chesky told employees in a memo that the company expected its 2020 revenue to be less than half of what it was last year.

But just two months later, things appeared to reverse course for the San Francisco-based company. On July 8, guests from around the world booked more than 1 million nights of future stays—a threshold not reached since March 3, Airbnb said. Soon after that announcement, the company reportedly revived its plans to go public, but was noncommittal about a timeline.

Three years ago, Airbnb was valued at $31 billion, according to PitchBook data. But that valuation reportedly dropped to $18 billion in April after the business secured a $1 billion debt and equity investment from Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners.

More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook

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A message from Orrick

How life sciences VC dealmakers are adapting to the pandemic

Venture investors and companies alike in the life sciences sector are adapting to the pandemic era, innovating in terms of their approaches to due diligence and modifying operations as need be. The latest edition of Orrick's life sciences-focused series draws on a variety of PitchBook datasets to provide an overview of key macro financing trends, as well as:

An Orrick-facilitated roundtable of noted venture investors and experts in the space, sharing key tactics and insights
A spotlight on exit trends across the sector
Analysis of median pre-money valuations in life sciences in 2020 relative to prior years

Read it now

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High-flying markets drive a rebound for public PE

(Westend61/Getty Images)

The big five publicly traded private equity firms logged healthy profits during the second quarter of the year, a sharp reversal from the ugly losses they reported in Q1. But the story of how Blackstone, KKR and the other industry powerhouses have performed during the pandemic is a lot more complicated than any one number.

Our latest analyst note compares these five firms across a range of key measurables and examines the different strategies they've undertaken to navigate this strange, unexpected year, including a spate of recent insurance investments, an uptick in opportunistic fundraising and a dialing back of their exit ambitions:

read it now

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Recommended Reads

Dawn Ostroff made her bones as a television executive. Now, she's drawing some of the podcast industry's biggest names to Spotify. [The Wall Street Journal]

London's banks are talking the talk when it comes to improving opportunities for Black workers. Some of those employees, though, say they aren't walking the walk. [Bloomberg]

MasterClass co-founder David Rogier is often asked whether his company is selling education or entertainment. His answer: Why not both? [The Atlantic]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

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People

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2013 Vintage Global Venture Funds with more than $250M
	People
	Stripe names GM's Dhivya Suryadevara as CFO
	VC Deals
	Nokia phone-maker dials up $230M
	Trumid becomes unicorn with $200M round
	Waterdrop reaches $2B valuation
	Coda cleans up with $80M
	Parsable brings in $60M
	Perimeter 81 pockets $40M Series B
	Nurx adds $22.5M to Series C
	Eggtronic secures $10M
	Valence scoops up $5.2M+
	Portfolio Companies
	Instacart piloting same-day delivery with Walmart in US
	SpotOn buys reservation startup Seatninja
	Exits & IPOs
	CuriosityStream to go public via SPAC
	Investors
	S2G launches oceans and seafood strategy, hires two MDs

The Daily Benchmark

2013 Vintage Global Venture Funds with more than $250M

Median IRR

18.07%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

23.20%

1.71x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

OrbiMed Private Investments V

Frazier Healthcare VII

Mayfield XIV

*IRR: net of fees

12 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Stripe names GM's Dhivya Suryadevara as CFO

Dhivya Suryadevara has joined Stripe as the payments processing company's new CFO. She most recently held the same position at General Motors. Stripe launched its service in 15 new countries across Europe, Latin America and Asia in the past year and now has a global workforce of more than 2,800.

View details

VC Deals

Nokia phone-maker dials up $230M

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer HMD Global has closed a $230 million funding round, with Google, Qualcomm and Nokia reported to be among the investors. HMD, which produces Nokia-branded smartphones, plans to use the funding to further develop 5G smartphones and expand its operations in Brazil, Africa and India.

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View 3 competitors »

Trumid becomes unicorn with $200M round

Trumid's valuation has jumped to over $1 billion after the bond trading platform provider received $200 million in funding led by Dragoneer Investment Group. TPG Capital, T. Rowe Price and BlackRock also took part in the round. Trading volume on the New York-based company's software has increased nearly 500% this year across 500-plus institutions. Founded in 2014, Trumid's electronic platform allows investors to trade corporate bonds, an area of the market that is still mostly carried out over the phone.

View round

View 13 competitors »

Waterdrop reaches $2B valuation

Tencent-backed Waterdrop, an insurance tech startup operating a healthcare crowdfunding platform and other services, has secured about $200 million at a $2 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. The Beijing-based company is also reportedly considering a public listing. Last year, Waterdrop raised over 1 billion yuan (about $145 million at the time) in a Series C led by private equity firm Boyu Capital, according to reports.

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Coda cleans up with $80M

Coda, the developer of a collaborative document platform that combines words and data, has secured $80 million, with Forbes reporting the Series C values the San Francisco-based company at $636 million. The funding was led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from existing backers Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst and several new investors. Teams at companies like Spotify, Square and DoorDash use Coda's software.

Additional Investors:

Madrona Venture Group, Underscore VC, Renegade Partners, NGP Capital, Hawk Equity

View round

View 33 competitors »

Parsable brings in $60M

Parsable, a provider of SaaS-based mobile collaboration and workflow tools, has raised a $60 million Series D co-led by Activate Capital and Glade Brook Capital. Investors including Alumni Ventures, Cisco Investments, Downing Ventures, Evolv Ventures and Princeville Capital also participated in the funding. Parsable raised $45 million in 2018 at a $200 million valuation, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Lightspeed, Australia Future Fund, B37 Ventures, Honeywell, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures

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View 15 competitors »

Perimeter 81 pockets $40M Series B

Insight Partners has led a $40 million round for network security provider Perimeter 81. In February, the Tel Aviv-based company launched a cloud architecture model that integrates networking and security tools into one platform. Perimeter 81 has received prior backing from Spring Ventures, SonicWall and Toba Capital.

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Nurx adds $22.5M to Series C

Healthtech startup Nurx has revealed that it raised an additional $22.5 million in May for its Series C. New backers Trustbridge, Comcast Ventures and Wittington Ventures participated in the funding, as did existing investors Union Square Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. Founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, the company offers STI testing kits, birth control and other medications on its online platform. Nurx will use the capital to develop personalized migraine treatments.

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View 14 competitors »

Eggtronic secures $10M

Eggtronic has raised $10 million in Series A financing from investors including Rinkelberg Capital, according to TechCrunch. Founded in 2012, the company is based in Italy but also has offices in the US and China. Eggtronic is a developer of eco-friendly power electronics and wireless chargers.

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Valence scoops up $5.2M+

Valence, which operates an online community and networking platform for Black professionals, has collected $5.25 million in new funding led by GGV Capital, according to reports. The Los Angeles-based startup raised a $2.5 million seed round in November 2019. Valence has reportedly already gained some 10,000 users since its founding last year.

Additional Investors:

Upfront Ventures, Maveron, SoftBank, Silicon Valley Bank

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View similar company »

Portfolio Companies

Instacart piloting same-day delivery with Walmart in US

Walmart is teaming up with Instacart to offer same-day delivery in the US, according to reports. The partnership is reportedly on a trial run in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Tulsa, Okla. Instacart, which reached a $13.7 billion valuation in June, already partners with Walmart's Sam's Club and Walmart Canada on same-day delivery.

View details

View 12 competitors »

SpotOn buys reservation startup Seatninja

Software and payments company SpotOn has purchased Seatninja, a restaurant reservation management startup. Seatninja, which has rebranded as SpotOn Reserve, works with restaurant chains including Maggiano's and Outback Steakhouse. SpotOn is backed by investors including 01 Advisors, Dragoneer Investment Group and Franklin Templeton.

View details

View 4 competitors »

Exits & IPOs

CuriosityStream to go public via SPAC

CuriosityStream, the provider of a documentary streaming service, will go public on the Nasdaq through a merger with Software Acquisition Group, a special-purpose acquisition company. A newly formed unit of the SPAC will buy CuriosityStream for $331 million, including debt. Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks launched CuriosityStream in 2015; the company raised $140 million last year from investors including Blum Capital Ventures and TimesSquare Capital Management.

View details

View 19 competitors »

Investors

S2G launches oceans and seafood strategy, hires two MDs

S2G Ventures has launched a new strategy that will focus on investments in early- and growth-stage companies related to oceans and seafood. The Chicago-based firm has also named Kate Danaher and Larsen Mettler as managing directors to oversee the strategy, which expects up to $100 million in commitments. S2G invests in companies related to human health, climate change and the health of the planet, with a portfolio that includes Beyond Meat, Sweetgreen and Apeel Sciences.

View details

View 49 investments »

Chart of the Day

"PE fundraising has cooled through the first half of 2020, although not for the reasons we originally anticipated. The COVID-19 pandemic forced IR teams to operate entirely remotely, which has benefitted established managers with long-standing LP relationships. Some of the publicly traded GPs reported record fundraising months in Q2, during the depths of the economic shutdown."

Source: PitchBook's 2020 Private Equity Outlook: H1 Follow-Up

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SoftBank embraces shift to asset management

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