Socially conscious SPACs are on the rise

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The Daily Pitch: VC

February 16, 2021

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

Today's Top Stories

Institutional demand buoys socially conscious SPACs

Car charging network operator EVgo plans to merge with Climate Real Impact Solutions, an ESG-oriented SPAC. (Courtesy of EVgo)

SPACs are eyeing companies that fulfill environmental, social and governance objectives—sensing that demand for publicly traded ESG companies has outstripped supply.

SPACs with ESG principles have raised more than $5 billion in the past year, according to PitchBook data.

Investors piled into ESG funds last year, growing total assets 67% year-over-year to over $1.6 trillion, Morningstar data shows.

Blank-check companies are looking beyond electric vehicles, snapping up leaders in car charging and hydrogen fuel cells, as well as sizing up greenfield opportunities.

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For the past two years, Facebook has been developing its version of a Supreme Court to rule on content moderation controversies. A reporter was following along. [The New Yorker]

On the field, Barcelona has been one of the most dominant soccer teams of this century. In the boardroom, though, the team's financial woes are becoming hard to overcome. [The New York Times]

Short sellers have covered more than $2 billion of GameStop shares over the past month. But the company is still the most-shorted stock on Wall Street. [Institutional Investor]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2018 Vintage Global PE Funds with $1B+
	VC Deals
	Public.com eyes $1.2B valuation
	Cameo in talks to raise funds at $1B valuation
	Data management startup Solidatus secures new funding
	Portfolio Companies
	SoftBank's Oyo to go digital-only in Latin America
	Exits & IPOs
	Ecommerce giant Coupang files for US IPO
	IWG takes control of WeWork-backed The Wing
	MoneyLion to go public via $2.9B SPAC merger
	Datadog buys security startup Sqreen
	Samsara could file IPO next month
	Fundraising
	HighGear Ventures closes secondaries fund

The Daily Benchmark

2018 Vintage Global PE Funds with $1B+

Median IRR

2.19%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

15.48%

1.00x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

The Resolute Fund IV

Audax Private Equity Fund VI

Nordic Capital Fund IX

*IRR: net of fees

68 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Public.com eyes $1.2B valuation

Public.com is raising $200 million at a $1.2 billion valuation in a funding round led by Tiger Global, Business Insider reported. The news comes about two months after the company secured a $65 million Series C. Public.com, which provides a mobile investing app, is backed by investors including Accel and Will Smith's Dreamers VC.

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Cameo in talks to raise funds at $1B valuation

Cameo, which teams with celebrities to create birthday greetings and other personalized videos for customers, is planning to raise around $100 million at a $1 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported. In 2019, the Chicago-based company was valued at $300 million with a funding round, according to PitchBook data. Founded in 2017, Cameo is backed by investors including Kleiner Perkins, Bain Capital and Lightspeed.

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View 1 competitors »

Data management startup Solidatus secures new funding

Solidatus, a provider of data management software, has secured a £14 million (around $19 million) Series A led by AlbionVC. The startup allows clients in sectors including financial services, healthcare and consulting to visualize, track and manage data to help with their digital transformation and regulatory compliance. The capital will go toward the London-based company's international expansion.

Additional Investors:

Citibank, HSBC Ventures

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Portfolio Companies

SoftBank's Oyo to go digital-only in Latin America

Hotel tech startup Oyo has ended a partnership with SoftBank in Latin America and plans to lay off most of its employees in the region, according to reports. Owing in part to travel restrictions that stemmed from the pandemic, Oyo's sprawling network of hotels has been reduced by nearly half, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Indian company is said to be pursuing a digital-only model in Latin America, and will focus on India, Europe and Southeast Asia.

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Exits & IPOs

Ecommerce giant Coupang files for US IPO

South Korea's largest online retailer, Coupang, has filed for an IPO in the US. SoftBank invested $1 billion in the retailer in 2015, and its Vision Fund added another $2 billion in 2018. Other investors include Greenoaks Capital and Maverick Ventures. The IPO could value Coupang at more than $50 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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IWG takes control of WeWork-backed The Wing

International office supplier IWG has acquired a majority stake in coworking startup The Wing for an undisclosed sum, Bloomberg reported. New York-based The Wing, whose business caters toward women, was one of many flexible office space companies to lay off staff early in the pandemic. It was last valued at $375 million in 2018, according to PitchBook data, and has received backing from NEA, WeWork and Sequoia.

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MoneyLion to go public via $2.9B SPAC merger

Fintech startup MoneyLion has agreed to merge with blank-check company Fusion Acquisition. The deal gives MoneyLion an equity value of $2.9 billion and could provide the company with $526 million in cash. New York-based MoneyLion was valued at $675 million last year, according to PitchBook data, and its investors include Edison Partners, Greenspring Associates and Fintech Collective.

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Datadog buys security startup Sqreen

Datadog has acquired Sqreen, which operates a security platform for cloud applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The startup has raised over $26 million from investors including Greylock Partners, Point Nine Capital and Alven Capital Partners, according to PitchBook data.

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Samsara could file IPO next month

Samsara is planning to file for an initial public offering as soon as March, Bloomberg reported. The developer of a cloud-based fleet management platform has raised over $1.2 billion in prior funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic. Last May, Samsara was valued at $5.4 billion, according to PitchBook data.

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Fundraising

HighGear Ventures closes secondaries fund

HighGear Ventures has closed its second fund, gathering $43 million for its strategy focused on secondary investments that provide liquidity to limited partners and early investors.

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View 18 investments »

Chart of the Day

"Carveout activity has waned in recent years as corporations binged on cheap debt and bought companies far faster than they divested them. In 2020, there were 1,223 carveouts, totaling $188.9 billion, which marked the fifth consecutive year of lower deal counts and value. Carveouts come about for several reasons: to appease regulators during a merger or acquisition, to bolster a balance sheet with excessive debt, or to jettison underperforming business lines."

Source: PitchBook's 2020 Annual North American M&A Report