PitchBook News - TCV raises $4B fund for tech deals

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.

PitchBook

Log in

The Daily Pitch: VC

January 28, 2021

Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A

Today's Top Stories

TCV closes its largest venture fund to date at $4B

Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky guided the TCV portfolio company to its lofty public debut last month. (Mike Windle/Getty Images)

TCV has amassed $4 billion for its latest flagship fund, its largest vehicle to date. The storied venture capital firm aims to continue its technology focus, particularly in areas such as SaaS, edtech, remote collaboration, fitness, media and entertainment, ecommerce, and digital banking.

The fund, dubbed TCV XI, has $1 billion more than the firm's previous vehicle, which closed in 2019. Last year, TCV made bets across the tech spectrum, most notably in fintech companies Klarna and Revolut, social fitness app provider Strava and cybersecurity specialist OneTrust. And one of the firm's portfolio companies, Airbnb, dashed onto the public markets after its highly anticipated IPO.

Founded in 1995, TCV has invested a total of $14 billion in over 350 companies. Its other successful exits include Peloton, Netflix, Facebook and Spotify.

Share:

Private debt primed to bounce back in 2021 after a pandemic plunge

The number of new private debt funds dropped to a nine-year low in 2020, while the amount of new capital raised sunk to its lowest point in five years. Some investors were wary of the market chaos caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Others had coffers that were already well-stocked after a glut of major funds in recent years.

But last year's decline is more likely to be a blip than the beginning of a significant shift in the market, according to PitchBook's 2020 Annual Global Private Debt Report, sponsored by Tree Line Capital Partners. Among the other key takeaways:

A slump in direct lending fundraises played a key role in last year's decline, with new fund count falling more than 50%

Other major strategies, including distressed debt and special situations funds, saw annual increases in capital raised

Quarterly IRR for private debt funds was -6.2% in Q1, a sign of the toll taken by the pandemic on fund valuations

read it now

Share:

A message from Stout

Fairness opinions: A guide for selecting a provider

Fairness opinions are playing an increasingly important role in M&A and related corporate transactions as a critical means of support for board decision-making. As a result, the number and type of financial opinion providers has expanded to include a broad range of investment banks, independent business appraisers, accounting firms and consulting firms. Sorting through these providers is only one challenge in selecting a fairness opinion provider. Varying levels of experience, expertise and potential conflicts of interest make it imperative to conduct thorough due diligence.

This guide provides boards of directors, corporate committees and other fiduciaries with a road map for selecting a fairness opinion provider, including:

How to assess capabilities, experience and resources
Questions to ask providers
Best practices for engaging a provider

Download the guide now.

Share:

Where will your firm rank in PitchBook's Global League Tables?

More than 25,000 firms coordinate with us in order to ensure the deals they accomplish appear in the PitchBook Platform. Where will your firm end up?

Reach out to connect@pitchbook.com to get your deals properly credited, so you may feature in our industry, region and deal type rankings.

Share:

Recommended Reads

Is it market manipulation, a market revolution, or something in between? A full rundown of what exactly is happening with GameStop. [The Wall Street Journal]

Goldman Sachs is going unicorn hunting in Europe. [Bloomberg]

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos both have ambitions of going to Mars. For now, they're battling over a segment of space that's just a little bit closer. [Gizmodo]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

20

VC valuations

1930

People

562

Companies

29

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2008 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds
	VC Deals
	Loanpal secures new funding
	DriveNets becomes unicorn with $208M round
	Booksy banks $70M for appointment scheduling
	ShipMonk sails away with $65M
	Literati books $40M Series B
	Lynk locks in $24M
	Portfolio Companies
	Ant to restructure after IPO suspension
	ByteDance logs twofold growth in 2020 revenue
	Exits & IPOs
	23andMe mulls merger with Richard Branson SPAC
	Casino game specialist sets sights on SPAC deal
	Fundraising
	Prime Movers Lab unveils $245M fund
	NextView raises $100M fund

The Daily Benchmark

2008 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

11.80%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

14.81%

1.69x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

California Asia Investors

Pacific Street Fund II

Florida SBA Ventures II

*IRR: net of fees

73 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Loanpal secures new funding

Loanpal, which operates a financing platform for providers of solar and other sustainable home products, has raised more than $800 million in a round co-led by NEA and WestCap. Riverstone and Brookfield Asset Management also participated in the funding.

View round

View similar company »

DriveNets becomes unicorn with $208M round

Networking software provider DriveNets has raised $208 million in a round led by D1 Capital Partners. The Series B brings the Israeli company's valuation to over $1 billion. DriveNets, which offers a cloud-based alternative to network routers, was valued at an estimated $464 million with a $117 million round in 2019, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Atreides Management, Bessemer Venture Partners, Pitango

View round

View 83 competitors »

Booksy banks $70M for appointment scheduling

Booksy has raised a $70 million Series C led by Cat Rock Capital, with support from Sprints Capital and others. Founded in Poland and currently based in San Francisco, the company provides an app for customers to schedule and pay for wellness and beauty appointments and products at local salons. Booksy has now raised around $120 million in total private funding.

Additional Investors:

Enern, Manta Ray Ventures, OpenOcean, Piton Capital, VNV Global

View round

View 9 competitors »

ShipMonk sails away with $65M

ShipMonk has raised a $65 million growth equity investment from Periphas Capital. Based in Florida, the company provides order fulfillment and inventory management services to ecommerce companies. The funding comes less than two months after ShipMonk raised $290 million from Summit Partners in December.

View round

View 28 competitors »

Literati books $40M Series B

Literati, a subscription startup that provides curated books, personalized stickers and artwork to subscribers, has raised $40 million in a round led by Felicis Ventures. The Austin-based company was valued at $35.9 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data. Literati recently launched its luminary platform, which features curated book clubs from notable figures such as Malala Yousafzai and Sir Richard Branson.

Additional Investors:

01 Advisors, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Shasta Ventures, Silverton Partners, Springdale Ventures, Stephen Curry

View round

View similar company »

Lynk locks in $24M

Lynk has raised $24 million in a round co-led by Brewer Lane Ventures and MassMutual Ventures, with participation from Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. The company develops a knowledge networking platform designed to help companies access experts who meet their specific needs.

View round

View similar company »

Portfolio Companies

Ant to restructure after IPO suspension

Ant Group, the fintech giant controlled by Jack Ma, has plans to restructure itself as a financial holding company supervised by China's central bank, The Wall Street Journal reported. Regulators in China reportedly told the company to become a holding company, subjecting it to stricter capital requirements. Last November, China called off Ant's IPO.

View details

View 53 competitors »

ByteDance logs twofold growth in 2020 revenue

ByteDance more than doubled its revenue to about $35 billion in 2020, Bloomberg reported. The TikTok owner's operating profit last year also grew to around $7 billion from less than $4 billion the year before, the report said. ByteDance is said to be preparing Hong Kong IPOs for some of its assets. The Chinese company still awaits approval to sell a stake in TikTok to Oracle and Walmart in a deal agreed upon last year.

View details

View 29 competitors »

Exits & IPOs

23andMe mulls merger with Richard Branson SPAC

23andMe, the consumer DNA testing company, has been in touch with a SPAC founded by Richard Branson about a potential merger, Bloomberg reported. Founded in 2006, the company has raised almost $800 million from investors including GV, G Squared and Sequoia. It was valued at $2.5 billion after a funding round in 2018, according to PitchBook data.

View details

View 18 competitors »

Casino game specialist sets sights on SPAC deal

Playstudios, a developer of social casino games, has held discussions to go public via a merger with a blank-check company, Bloomberg reported. The SPAC, Acies Acquisition Corp., is led by former MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren. Playstudios has raised over $36 million from investors including Activision Blizzard, MGM Resorts and DCM Ventures; it was valued at $121.5 million in 2017, according to PitchBook data.

View details

View 4 competitors »

Fundraising

Prime Movers Lab unveils $245M fund

Prime Movers Lab has raised $245 million for its sophomore flagship fund. Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale are among the LPs investing in the vehicle. The Jackson, Wyo.-based firm targets early-stage companies developing potential breakthrough technologies in sectors like energy, transportation and biotech. Prime Movers Lab raised $100 million for its first fund last year.

View fund

View 27 investments »

NextView raises $100M fund

NextView Ventures has secured $100 million for its fourth fund. A total of 56 limited partners contributed to the investment vehicle, according to an SEC filing. NextView invests in seed-stage internet and mobile startups.

View fund

View 110 investments »

Chart of the Day

"Not only has exit activity abated in 2020, but the composition has shifted as well. For the first time since 2009, there has been a meaningful reduction in sponsor-to-sponsor (also called secondary buyouts, or SBOs) exit activity. During the pandemic it appears that PE firms had perhaps been seeking steeper discounts on deals than other buyout shops were willing to grant, pushing more exits to strategics."

Source: PitchBook's Q3 2020 US PE Middle Market Report