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The Daily Pitch: VC

July 6, 2021

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

Today's Top Stories

How emerging ESG standards put pressure on PE to adapt

(Joey Schaffer/PitchBook News)

Over the years, ESG standards have been set by an alphabet soup of industry groups. With the shift toward better reporting on sustainability, fund managers are being expected to prove their credentials with growing frequency.

As LPs increasingly prioritize responsible investment, many fund managers are finding that simply having an ESG policy is not enough if its impact on a portfolio is not demonstrable.

Mergers, like that of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the International Integrated Reporting Council, are helping consolidate efforts for consistent measurements.

However, ethical investing is hard to quantify—meaning those who seek to establish a globally accepted standard likely have a long way to go.

Recommended Reads

Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi attracted billionaires and governments to his funds, promising investments that would benefit society. But then the money vanished. [The Wall Street Journal]

Why Southeast Asia is too diverse for a one-size-fits-all digital transformation. [Fortune]

How America's heartland has gone from the backwater of the nation to the ultimate destination. [Forbes]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

41

VC valuations

1624

People

540

Companies

16

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2008 Vintage Global Debt Funds
	VC Deals
	India's Cars24 eyes $2B valuation
	Licious nabs $192M
	Physna picks up $56M
	Nigeria's FairMoney raises $42M Series B
	Exits & IPOs
	Modern Times snaps up PlaySimple
	Fundraising
	Parkway Venture Capital on track to close $60M fund

The Daily Benchmark

2008 Vintage Global Debt Funds

Median IRR

11.35%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

16.39%

1.48x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

PIMCO Distressed Mortgage Fund II

Apollo Credit Opportunity Fund I

Apollo Structured Credit Recovery Fund I

*IRR: net of fees

28 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

India's Cars24 eyes $2B valuation

Cars24, an Indian online marketplace for used cars, is getting ready to raise $200 million to $250 million from existing investors including DST Global, Bloomberg reported. The deal could reportedly close in several weeks and value Cars24 at between $1.6 billion and $2 billion. Cars24 raised a $200 million Series E in November, with reports at the time indicating a valuation of more than $1 billion. Demand for used cars in India has increased significantly as consumers try to avoid taking public transportation amid the pandemic, the Bloomberg report said.

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Licious nabs $192M

Licious has raised a $192 million Series F co-led by Temasek and Multiples Private Equity, TechCrunch reported. The Bengaluru-based company is the operator of a grocery delivery platform for seafood and meat products. Existing backers 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund and Vertex Ventures also participated in the round.

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Physna picks up $56M

Physna has raised $56 million in funding led by Tiger Global, with participation from GV and Sequoia. The Ohio-based company is the developer of a 3D design platform intended to help procurement and engineering teams measure operational efficiencies. Physna was valued at $100 million in January, according to PitchBook data.

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Nigeria's FairMoney raises $42M Series B

Fintech startup FairMoney has raised $42 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global, TechCrunch reported, with DST Partners, Flourish Ventures, Newfund and Speedinvest also participating. Nigeria-based FairMoney offers consumer loans and bank accounts through an app; it reportedly has 3.5 million registered users.

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Exits & IPOs

Modern Times snaps up PlaySimple

Sweden's Modern Times Group has acquired word game developer PlaySimple. MTG paid 3.1 billion Swedish kronor (about $363 million) upfront, with an additional 1.3 billion kronor contingent on performance. PlaySimple has a portfolio of nine games, with an additional four to be launched this year, and plans to expand into digital card games. The Bengaluru-based company has raised funding from investors including Chiratae Ventures, Elevation Capital and Google for Startups (formerly Google Launchpad).

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Fundraising

Parkway Venture Capital on track to close $60M fund

New York-based Parkway Venture Capital has raised $50 million of a $60 million target for a fund that will invest in tech startups using artificial intelligence, complex engineering and data science to create simulations. The firm has backed furniture startup Burrow, fusion energy developer TAE Technologies and workplace safety company Siera.ai.

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Chart of the Day

"In Q1 2021 B2B M&A activity totaled 2,003 deals worth $185.6 billion, marking YoY decreases of 23.8% and 16.9%, respectively. The bulk of B2B M&A volume in the first quarter occurred in Europe, accounting for a 48.3% share, a decent rise from 41.2% in Q1 2020 and surpassing North America's share of M&A in this space."

Source: PitchBook's Q1 2021 Global M&A Report