PitchBook News - PE's latest play in the NBA

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The Daily Pitch: VC

July 7, 2021

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

Today's Top Stories

Dyal's deal for Phoenix Suns shows private equity wants winners

This week, the Phoenix Suns became the latest NBA franchise to team with PE. (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The PE industry has historically been known for buying struggling companies and attempting a turnaround. But the handful of firms investing in professional sports teams have mostly taken a different approach.

The latest example came Tuesday when Dyal HomeCourt Partners announced it had purchased a stake of less than 5% in the Phoenix Suns through a deal that values the NBA franchise at approximately $1.55 billion.

In January, the NBA loosened its rules to allow owners to sell to investment funds and other institutional investors. Dyal Capital is currently the only investor allowed to buy stakes in multiple NBA franchises.

Earlier this year, Arctos Sports Partners agreed to acquire a 5% stake in the Golden State Warriors, and last month Sixth Street teamed up with Michael Dell to buy a stake in the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. But PE's sports investing push hasn't been limited to basketball.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

25

VC valuations

1694

People

547

Companies

14

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2010 Vintage European Venture Funds
	VC Deals
	India's Pine Labs picks up $600M+
	DIY marketplace ManoMano hits $2.6B valuation
	Fintech startup Pleo pulls in $150M
	Linus Health locks up $55M Series B
	Exits & IPOs
	Nextdoor to merge with Khosla-backed SPAC
	Satellite data company to go public via SPAC
	Heliogen set to conduct SPAC deal
	Fundraising
	Austin's iFly.vc closes $46M+ vehicle
	Investors
	China to ramp up rules on US-listed companies

The Daily Benchmark

2010 Vintage European Venture Funds

Median IRR

18.00%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

21.56%

1.37x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Northzone VI

Advent Life Sciences Fund I

SEED Capital Denmark II

*IRR: net of fees

7 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

India's Pine Labs picks up $600M+

Pine Labs, the India-based developer of a merchant commerce platform, has raised over $600 million in a round backed by Fidelity Management & Research, BlackRock, Ishana, Tree Line and others. Serving merchants of various sizes across Asia and the Middle East, Pine Labs' cloud-based platform offers payment acceptance solutions, enterprise automation systems and digital gift card distribution, among other services.

Additional Investors:

IIFL, Kotak, Neuberger Berman

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DIY marketplace ManoMano hits $2.6B valuation

Dragoneer Investment Group has led a $355 million Series F for ManoMano, valuing the Paris-based online marketplace at $2.6 billion. Temasek, General Atlantic, Eurazeo, Bpifrance, Aglaé Ventures, Kismet Holdings and Armat Group also participated in the round. ManoMano operates a digital marketplace for DIY, home improvement and gardening products. The startup was valued at $573 million in early 2020, according to PitchBook data.

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View 5 competitors »

Fintech startup Pleo pulls in $150M

Pleo has raised $150 million in a Series C co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Thrive Capital. The round values the Copenhagen-based startup at $1.7 billion and included participation from Creandum, Kinnevik, Founders, Stripes and Seedcamp. Pleo, which offers employee spending cards and expense management software, was valued at an estimated $500 million with its $56 million Series B in 2019.

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View 33 competitors »

Linus Health locks up $55M Series B

Digital health startup Linus Health has raised a $55 million Series B from existing investors. Morningside Ventures led the round, VentureBeat reported. The Boston-area startup's platform focuses on assessing and improving cognitive health, with tests that include screening tools for early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

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Exits & IPOs

Nextdoor to merge with Khosla-backed SPAC

Neighborhood-focused social media app maker Nextdoor has struck a deal to go public in a SPAC merger with Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. II, a blank-check company sponsored by the eponymous VC firm. The deal gives Nextdoor an enterprise value of $4.3 billion, up from $2.17 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook data. Nextdoor expects to bring in $686 million in cash from the deal, including a $270 million PIPE backed by T. Rowe Price, Baron Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group and others.

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View 3 competitors »

Satellite data company to go public via SPAC

Satellogic, a high-resolution satellite data collection company, has agreed to combine with CF Acquisition Corp. V, a blank-check company sponsored by financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The deal will give Satellogic a pro forma enterprise value of $850 million and raise around $274 million, including a $100 million PIPE deal. The company, which has received prior backing from investors such as Tencent and Fundo Pitanga, recently partnered with SpaceX to deploy a constellation of more than 300 satellites by 2025.

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Heliogen set to conduct SPAC deal

Renewable energy startup Heliogen has agreed to merge with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the company at $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. That figure is a sharp jump from the $107 million valuation it had in December, according to PitchBook data. The startup, led by Idealab founder Bill Gross, uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a tower that stores energy as heat. Heliogen plans to use the technology in industries like cement and steel production, and to create hydrogen fuel.

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Fundraising

Austin's iFly.vc closes $46M+ vehicle

Texas-based iFly.vc has raised more than $46 million for its second fund, TechCrunch reported, with the capital coming from family offices and individual investors such as Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and Tencent founding member Free Wu. The firm, which relocated to Austin from Silicon Valley during the pandemic, has reportedly backed startups including grocery app Weee! and Cheese Financial, a digital bank aimed at serving the Asian-American community.

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View 13 investments »

Investors

China to ramp up rules on US-listed companies

The Chinese government plans to bring more scrutiny to domestic companies that are listed on foreign exchanges, according to reports. The expected actions include cybersecurity measures such as tighter control of cross-border data movement, as well as cracking down on fraud, insider trading and other illegal activities, Reuters reported. The move comes days after the government ordered Didi Global's app to be removed from app stores amid an investigation over its handling of customer data.