|
|
|
|
|
Ant Group aims for world's largest IPO
|
|
Jack Ma's Ant Group is seeking around $34.4 billion in a pair of IPOs in Hong Kong and Shanghai that could edge out Saudi Aramco's $25.6 billion haul in 2019 to become the largest public offering of all time.
Hangzhou-based Ant will sell 1.67 billion shares in Hong Kong for HK$80 (around $10) per share and an equivalent amount on Shanghai's tech-heavy STAR board. The offering could take in an additional $5.2 billion if all over-allotment options are exercised.
The IPO is a banner moment for China's domestic stock exchanges and its venture capital ecosystem. Ant has reportedly raised some $20 billion since 2015, which represents more than a third of VC investment in China-based fintechs over the period, according to PitchBook data.
The fintech company's largest segment is its credit platform, which accounted for 39% of Ant Group's 72.5 billion yuan (about $10.8 billion) revenue in the first six months of 2020. Digital payments made up 36% of revenue.
The company is targeting Nov. 5 for its Hong Kong listing. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| (ArisSu/Getty Images) |
|
|
VC funding for companies that focus on vaccines and infectious disease has reached a record $1 billion year-to-date. The timeline and illiquid nature of VC financing made a good match for biotech startups even before the coronavirus pandemic cast a spotlight on the drug development pipeline.
In our latest analyst note, we explore the biotech company lifecycle, how it compares with that of other tech startups and how the nature of VC funding aligns with the needs of high-risk startups in the biotech and pharma sector. Among the takeaways:
- Biotech startups are long-term ventures with short-term financing needs, allowing VCs to invest at multiple points in a company's lifecycle
- These companies have been quicker than other tech startups to raise VC funding and go public, indicating they are taking advantage of a healthy biotech IPO market to fund ongoing clinical trials and build out R&D programs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A message from RBC Capital Markets
|
|
|
|
Private equity playbook: valuations, capital deployment and SPACs
|
|
With $1.5 trillion in dry powder, PE firms today are better capitalized than at any time in history.
Yet with public company valuations at significant highs relative to those for privately held businesses, this represents both challenges and opportunities for the industry. While public market transactions have become more expensive, the attraction of taking private portfolio companies public has become stronger.
How is PE shifting business and capital deployment strategies? What impact could the rise of SPACs have? How has the pandemic influenced dealmaking? Will record dry powder accelerate investment in the months ahead?
Explore the major issues impacting PE and M&A, with insights from RBC Capital Markets' expert team of investment banking professionals. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thoma Bravo, Blackstone close $30B+ worth of new funds
|
|
 |
| (Alicia Llop/Getty Images) |
|
|
Two of the biggest names in private equity have raised more than $30 billion across a series of newly closed vehicles, offering a major boost to a PE fundraising landscape that's experienced a notable slowdown in 2020.
Thoma Bravo led the way with three new fund closings, bringing in $17.8 billion for its latest flagship fund, $3.9 billion for a middle-market fund and $1.1 billion for a vehicle targeting smaller companies. The $17.8 billion effort is the largest tech-focused private equity fund ever closed, according to PitchBook data, but it might not hold that title for long: Silver Lake has reportedly raised more than $18 billion for a new tech fund that could close before the year is out.
Separately, Blackstone has raised $8 billion for its second core private equity fund, a strategy focused on making investments with longer horizons than the typical PE timeline. Blackstone raised at least $5 billion for the strategy's initial fund in 2017, according to Private Equity News.
Through the end of the third quarter, investors had raised just $127.6 billion for new private equity funds in the US, on pace for the lowest annual total in five years, according to PitchBook data. Part of that decline is due to the coronavirus, but PitchBook's Q3 2020 US PE Breakdown says the pandemic is only part of the story. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carlyle makes a blockchain bet with Calastone deal
|
|
 |
| (Dong Wenjie/Getty Images) |
|
|
The Carlyle Group has agreed to buy a majority stake in Calastone, a London-based company that uses blockchain technology to automate and digitize the mutual fund industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Calastone applies distributed ledger technology—the concept that underpins blockchain—to manage and automate various fund transactions including order routing, settlement, dividend and transfer services for fund managers. The company, founded in 2007, migrated its global network onto a blockchain last year and serves over 2,300 clients, including those in private equity, across 43 countries. It now plans to expand internationally and broaden the applications of its technology.
The deal will create an exit for VC investors Octopus Ventures and Accel. Octopus first backed the business in a seed round in 2008 and went on to lead a £4.16 million (about $5.4 million at today's conversion rate) Series A for the company in early 2010, while Accel led a £12.85 million Series B in 2013, which gave the company a post-money valuation of £38.7 million, according to PitchBook data. Octopus said the deal represents a nine times return on its overall investment and an IRR of more than 30%. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The impact of the 2020 election
|
|
Have your firm's dealmaking pace or fundraising plans changed ahead of the US presidential election? What are your biggest areas of concern ahead of a Biden presidency or a Trump second term?
We've created a short pre-election survey seeking the investor perspective (all answers are anonymous and results will only be published in aggregate):
Take the survey |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When it comes to spending on the campaign trail, private equity is breaking records in 2020. [The Wall Street Journal]
A startup called Best Made managed to turn hand-crafted axes into a status symbol. But when the pandemic arrived, the enigmatic company went dark. [InsideHook]
On Monday, NASA announced a new discovery of water on the moon. Here's how the breakthrough came about. [The New Yorker] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
|
|
17
VC valuations
|
1549
People
|
402
Companies
|
13
Funds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
2013 Vintage Global PE Funds with more than $1B
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PitchBook Webinar: The resilience of US VC in Q3
|
|
Major trends from before the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing in VC, including further proliferation of mega-deals, increasing late-stage activity and a flourishing exit environment. On track for a nearly record-breaking quarter in terms of exit value, public debuts from big names like Snowflake, Palantir, Asana and Unity have brought liquidity to investors.
Join industry experts from Silicon Valley Bank, Certent, NVCA and PitchBook on Oct. 29 for a panel discussion about the development of the current market environment and other trends highlighted in the Q3 2020 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.
Register today |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kara Nortman becomes co-managing partner at Upfront
|
|
| Upfront Ventures has promoted Kara Nortman to co-managing partner. At the Los Angeles-based firm, she will work alongside fellow managing partner Mark Suster to lead its fund investment activities. Nortman began her VC career at Battery Ventures and later spent seven years at IAC. She was also a founding member of AllRaise and led the consortium that gained the rights to start Los Angeles' women's soccer expansion team, Angel City. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scorpion Therapeutics launches with $108M
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rokt closes $80M Series D
|
|
| Rokt, a provider of ecommerce marketing technology, has raised $80 million in a round led by TDM Growth Partners. The funding values the company at $450 million, according to a PitchBook estimate. Founded in Sydney, Rokt operates in several countries including Sweden, Norway, Canada, Japan and the US. The startup raised a $48 million Series C in October 2019. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grayshift gets $47M for digital forensics
|
|
| PeakEquity Partners has led a $47 million Series A for Grayshift, the operator of a digital forensics platform that extracts encrypted information from mobile devices. Founded in 2016, the Atlanta-based company works with law enforcement and government agencies across more than 25 countries. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Airbnb approves share split
|
|
| Airbnb's board has approved a two-for-one split of its privately held shares, valuing them at $34.88 as of Sept. 30, according to Bloomberg. The vacation rental company's shares have reportedly grown by 10.4% in value since the end of the second quarter. Airbnb filed confidentially to go public in August; a Reuters report from earlier this month indicated that the business plans to make its filing public after the November US presidential election. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bayer buys gene therapy company for up to $4B
|
|
| Bayer has purchased Asklepios BioPharmaceutical for $2 billion up front and up to $2 billion more in success-based milestone payments. The company's gene therapy portfolio includes treatments for medical conditions like Pompe disease, Parkinson's disease and congestive heart failure. North Carolina-based AskBio will operate as an independent Bayer subsidiary as part of the deal. The company raised a $235 million round in 2019 from TPG Capital and Vida Ventures. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ByteDance in talks to list Douyin in Hong Kong
|
|
| Beijing-based ByteDance is considering a Hong Kong IPO for Douyin, the Chinese version of short-form video app TikTok, according to Reuters. In August, Douyin reportedly attracted 600 million daily users. The White House has sought to force ByteDance to sell its US TikTok business, but a federal judge last month halted an executive order that would have banned the app in the US. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Of the 112 late-stage VC mega-deals completed in 2020, 104 have included nontraditional participation. This 92.9% participation rate is a reminder that the pace and size with which these deals have been completed relies heavily on nontraditional capital flowing into venture. So far through the pandemic and economic turmoil, nontraditional investors have shown they still view venture as a quality investment against current headwinds and have not yet been deterred from remaining strong investors within the industry."
Source: PitchBook's Q2 2020 US VC Valuations Report |
|
|
|
|
|
|
