PitchBook News - Panasonic lands Blue Yonder for $7.1B

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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 26, 2021

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Today's Top Stories

Panasonic to take over Blue Yonder in $7.1B deal

(David Becker/Getty Images)

Panasonic has struck a deal to acquire Blue Yonder, an Arizona-based provider of supply-chain management software, from Blackstone and New Mountain Capital in a $7.1 billion deal that values the business at $8.5 billion.

The Japanese electronics giant will purchase the remaining 80% of Blue Yonder it doesn't already own for $5.6 billion, plus an additional $1.5 billion in debt repayment. Panasonic acquired a 20% minority stake in the company from New Mountain in July. Panasonic shares closed Friday down more than 3% following the news.

Panasonic said the deal will bolster its presence in the supply-chain sector, following a demand heightened by the pandemic and continuing ecommerce boom. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Blackstone and New Mountain will receive a sizable return on their investment, after acquiring Blue Yonder for $575 million in 2016.

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EQT to pick up FirstGroup bus operations for $4.6B

(Jim Craigmyle/Getty Images)

London-listed FirstGroup has agreed to sell its North American subsidiaries First Student and First Transit to EQT for $4.6 billion.

First Transit is one of North America's largest providers of public transit services, operating in about 300 locations. First Student is the biggest school transportation provider, with about 43,000 buses in its fleet.

The two business units comprise the majority of FirstGroup's North American operations. The UK-based company is still seeking a buyer for the remaining unit, Greyhound.

EQT plans to invest in electrifying the company's fleet and accelerating the transition to using renewable fuel sources for its buses.

The deal is being made via EQT Infrastructure V, which will be 20% to 25% invested following the deal with FirstGroup. EQT held a first close for the fund in March on €12.5 billion (about $15 billion); the vehicle has a hard cap of €15 billion.

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A message from Abacus

Don't toy with my emotions—why saying 'No' is good

The uncertainty of COVID that drove lending markets to a near standstill just a year ago are now long gone. Q4 2020 and the current environment show that lender and sponsor appetites are at levels meeting or exceeding the pre-COVID world.

What that means for all capital providers these days is you have to be expeditious, and you have to be certain of your execution—no more "hanging around the hoop." Folks don't have time for it; you do a disservice to your partners and damage your credibility in the long term. At Abacus, we strive for certainty early in the process, even if it's a quick no, as we try to make competitive processes easier for our sponsor clients.

Learn more here

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Recommended Reads

Screenwriter and director Paul Schrader on the future of cinema and the transformation of audiences during the age of Netflix. [The New Yorker]

Meet the Inspiration4 team, the world's first non-professional astronaut space crew that's boarding a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft this September. [Time]

In a year of travel restrictions, aviation companies are offering "flights to nowhere," giving avid travelers the opportunity to experience the freedoms and frivolities of their pre-pandemic lives. [BBC]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2012 Vintage North American Venture Funds
	A message from Unigestion
	In discussion with GPs: How can secondary deals unlock value?
	VC Deals
	Kandji grabs $60M
	Sift secures $50M
	Unsupervised picks up $35M
	Exits & IPOs
	Accolade to buy PlushCare for $450M
	Impel Neuropharma raises $80M in IPO
	Fundraising
	Basis Set Ventures closes $165M sophomore fund

The Daily Benchmark

2012 Vintage North American Venture Funds

Median IRR

18.15%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

25.91%

1.98x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Emergence Capital Partners Fund III

Flagship Ventures Fund IV

IA Venture Strategies Fund II

*IRR: net of fees

24 Funds in Benchmark »

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A message from Unigestion

In discussion with GPs: How can secondary deals unlock value?

Join our webinar to hear GPs discuss the exceptional opportunity in GP-led secondary deals at the small end of the market.

Since the financial crisis, GP-led secondaries have emerged as a way for investors to generate strong returns by unlocking value in companies at attractive valuations.

So how can these deals generate such compelling and resilient returns?

Find out as two GPs share their insights into the drivers of success in their respective GP-led transactions.

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VC Deals

Kandji grabs $60M

Kandji, a provider of Apple device management solutions for enterprises, has secured $60 million in Series B funding led by Felicis Ventures, with participation from SVB Capital, Greycroft, Okta Ventures and The Spruce House Partnership. The round follows the San Diego-based startup's $21 million Series A in October. Since its founding in 2018, Kandji has brought in a total of $88.5 million.

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Sift secures $50M

Sift, the developer of a network management platform designed to detect fraud, has raised $50 million at a more than $1 billion valuation in a round led by Insight Partners. The San Francisco-based company raised $53 million at a $328 million valuation in 2018, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Stripes, Union Square Ventures

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Unsupervised picks up $35M

Unsupervised has raised a $35 million Series B co-led by Cathay Innovation and SignalFire. The Colorado-based company offers data analysis software to automate tasks and generate customer insights.

Additional Investors:

Coatue Management, Elad Gil, Eniac Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners

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Exits & IPOs

Accolade to buy PlushCare for $450M

Healthcare benefits company Accolade has agreed to purchase PlushCare, a provider of telehealth services, for up to $450 million in cash and stock. San Francisco-based PlushCare has been backed by GGV Capital and Transformation Capital Partners.

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Impel Neuropharma raises $80M in IPO

Drugmaker Impel Neuropharma has raised $80 million after selling 5.33 million shares at $15 apiece in its Nasdaq IPO. The stock closed its first day of trading unchanged from that price, valuing the company at about $291 million based on the number of shares outstanding. Impel, which is developing treatments for central nervous system diseases, was valued at $167.5 million in 2018, according to PitchBook data. Its top backers include KKR (13% post-IPO stake), 5AM Ventures (11.4%), VenBio (11.4%), Vivo Capital (11.4%) and Norwest Venture Partners (11.2%).

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Fundraising

Basis Set Ventures closes $165M sophomore fund

Basis Set Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on AI investments, has raised $165 million for its second fund, TechCrunch reported. The oversubscribed vehicle is nearly $30 million larger than the firm's 2017 vintage $136 million debut fund. The Bay Area-based firm was founded by Lan Xuezhao, formerly the head of corporate development at Dropbox.

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View 28 investments »