LPs look to private capital heavyweights

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

PitchBook

Log in

The Daily Pitch: VC

May 20, 2021

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

Today's Top Stories

LPs put their faith in private capital's heavyweights

The growing dominance of private capital's biggest funds has been a perennial narrative for the asset class over the past decade. The pandemic has only exacerbated that, as the gravitational pull of the industry's mega-funds seems stronger than ever.

This ongoing concentration of commitments provides the spotlight for our Q1 2021 Private Fund Strategies Report, which offers a fresh analysis of private market fundraising trends in the first three months of the year across all major private fund strategies. Highlights include:

The rapid rise of secondaries fundraising both in 2020 and 2021, where the total capital raised through March is now just shy of 2019's full-year total. This is expected to rise as GPs and LPs turn to secondaries as a means of managing their portfolios and capital allocations in the wake of a turbulent year.

The growing mountain of private capital assets under management—dry powder plus the remaining value of fund investments—driven in part by a resurgence in valuations from the markdowns seen at the start of the pandemic.

A look at how other private market strategies are faring, including real assets and private debt. The latter saw a fundraising slowdown in the first three months of 2021.

read it now

Share:

Bundesliga says no to private equity

Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund is tackled by Alexander Hack of 1.FSV Mainz 05 during a recent Bundesliga match.
(Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images)

German soccer league Bundesliga has reportedly opted to end negotiations with a group of PE firms who were looking to buy a minority stake in a new media company that would own the league's international broadcasting rights. The move comes amid growing backlash from fans opposed to institutional investors pushing further into pro sports.

KKR, CVC Capital Partners, Bridgepoint and Intermediate Capital Group had made bids in the Bundesliga auction, which saw interest from more than 80 investor groups, according to the Financial Times. Some of the top bids reportedly surpassed €500 million (about $609 million) for a 25% stake in the media rights company.
This isn't the first time talks between PE and pro soccer have dissolved. Last year, reports emerged that a consortium led by CVC Capital Partners had agreed to pay some $2 billion for a roughly 10% stake in the media rights of Italian soccer league Serie A. But the two parties have been locked in negotiations for months, and a February Reuters report indicated the deal hadn't received the required support of 14 of the 20 Serie A teams.
Earlier this year, plans for a European Super League reportedly bankrolled by JP Morgan collapsed after sparking international outrage among soccer fans upset that it would destroy the current makeup of European soccer.

Related read: European soccer's new Super League casts shadow over PE investment

Share:

A message from SS&C Intralinks

Find out what investors are thinking

The chaos of last year has driven seismic changes across all industries, and the debt capital markets are still feeling aftershocks. All eyes are on investors for insight into what's ahead.

In association with Institutional Asset Manager, SS&C Intralinks surveyed a diverse group of 106 institutional investors, asset managers, family offices and investment banks from across the globe—nearly half of whom are C-suite executives—to get their predictions, pain points and investing plans for the coming year.

The results are now available in this just-published report, featuring exclusive insights on:

Institutional investor return expectations
The growing importance of relationships
What's driving the shift to private assets
How technology supports the market
Emerging trends and opportunities

Download this important new report now

Share:

It's US vs. China in race to build chip technology of tomorrow

President Joe Biden has sought to ramp up funding for semiconductors. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)

A chip shortage has thrown the global semiconductor industry into chaos, but startups building next-generation chips are thriving.

VC-backed semiconductor companies raised a record $2.64 billion in Q1 alone.

Chinese startups have won the lion's share of those VC dollars, followed by the US. President Joe Biden is calling for $50 billion to invest in semiconductor manufacturing and research as part of an effort to keep up with China's aggressive R&D spending in the sector.

New chip designs are targeting self-driving cars and other AI applications where efficiency is paramount.

Recommended Reads

Why Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount made a controversial decision to pay hackers a $4.4 million ransom. [The Wall Street Journal]

The term for burnout was coined around 1973. Is it just a temporary, modern affliction, or a human condition that can be dated back centuries? [The New Yorker]

The untold story of how Florence Nightingale used data visualization to save the lives of her patients. [Fast Company]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

27

VC valuations

1782

People

483

Companies

22

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2018 Vintage Global Growth Funds
	Partner Perspectives
	PE keeps piling into healthcare
	VC Deals
	PathAI closes $165M Series C
	Formlabs picks up $150M Series E from SoftBank
	Pipe raises an additional $100M
	Zap Energy banks $27.5M for fusion energy tech
	42Crunch nabs $17M Series A
	Fundraising
	83North raises $550M fund

The Daily Benchmark

2018 Vintage Global Growth Funds

Median IRR

11.65%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

26.29%

1.07x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Merida Capital Partners

Trinity Hunt Partners V

BGV Opportunity Fund

*IRR: net of fees

21 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

Partner Perspectives

PE keeps piling into healthcare

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, PE investors notched a record tally of deals closed within the US healthcare sector. In Grant Thornton's latest sector-focused PE market brief developed in collaboration with PitchBook, their industry luminaries examine the key drivers of this resilient, robust pace of investment. Highlights include:

Datasets from PitchBook spanning investment by size, type, median deal sizes and more
Spotlights on home health and hospice and behavioral healthcare
Insights from Grant Thornton's healthcare-dedicated experts

Read it now

Share:

VC Deals

PathAI closes $165M Series C

PathAI, a developer of AI-based technology that helps pathologists diagnose and treat diseases like cancer, has raised a $165 million Series C led by D1 Capital and Kaiser Permanente. About a dozen new and returning investors joined the round, including Tiger Global, 8VC, KdT Ventures, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. The Boston-based startup has now raised a total of $255 million in venture funding, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

General Atlantic, Adage, Biospring Partners, General Catalyst, Polaris Partners, Refactor Capital, LabCorp Ventures

View round

View 16 competitors »

Formlabs picks up $150M Series E from SoftBank

3D printing startup Formlabs was valued at $2 billion after raising $150 million in a Series E led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. The Massachusetts-based company's range of 3D printing capabilities are used by medical and dental practices, manufacturing companies, artists and others. Deep Nishar, a senior managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, will join Formlabs' board.

View round

View 12 competitors »

Pipe raises an additional $100M

Pipe has revealed that it raised $250 million in its latest round, $100 million above the total the fintech startup disclosed in March, according to TechCrunch. It was reported at the time that Miami-based Pipe, which provides a revenue-based financing platform for SaaS companies, was valued at $2 billion. Greenspring Associates led the round, which included participation from new and returning investors including 3L Capital, Next47 and Seven Seven Six.

View round

View similar company »

Zap Energy banks $27.5M for fusion energy tech

Zap Energy has raised $27.5 million in a Series B led by Addition, with participation from Energy Impact Partners, GA Capital, Fourth Realm and others. Founded in 2017, the Seattle-based company is the developer of compact and scalable fusion reactor that's designed to support sustainable energy production. Zap raised a $6.5 million round at a $25 million valuation in August, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Chevron Technology Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital

View round

View similar company »

42Crunch nabs $17M Series A

42Crunch has raised $17 million in a round led by Energy Impact Partners, with participation from Adara Ventures. The London-based company is the developer of an automated API security platform that generates security policies and provides auditing, live endpoint scanning and API micro-firewall protection for enterprises.

View round

View similar company »

Fundraising

83North raises $550M fund

Venture capital firm 83North has raised $550 million for its sixth flagship fund, bringing its total AUM to $1.8 billion, Bloomberg reported. The firm, which primarily backs tech startups in the US, Israel and Europe, has invested in food delivery company Just Eat and fintech providers Marqeta and Payoneer.

View fund

View 87 investments »