Forbes - Crypto tops the 2022 Midas List

While the list doesn’t have a theme or focus, it frequently highlights the areas and trends where VCs are spending time and seeing success. Last year, for instance, it was flooded with investors who had piled into pandemic darling Airbnb and had cited it as their top deal, after the company exited in December 2020 at a $47 billion valuation.

This year, the most cited deal appears to be a clear indicator of where the market is headed: crypto. 

Crypto exchange platform Coinbase appeared on the list as an investor’s top deal this year more frequently than any other company. The investors who backed it hail from every corner of the industry, from Silicon Valley stalwart Andreessen Horowitz’s top dog Chris Dixon to New York-based early-stage firm Union Square Ventures’ partner Fred Wilson.  

Coinbase’s prominence highlights just how broad the industry’s involvement in crypto. It seems everyone has started to invest in the sprawling category—even those investors who told me just two years ago they would never touch it. 

Crypto companies attracted $25.2 billion of venture capital in 2021, according to data from CB Insights. And while just one other crypto-focused company (StarkWare) was listed as an investor’s top deal this year, that is unlikely to be the case next year. 

Many crypto companies have grown quickly and are nearing the levels of funding and maturity they’ll need to be future top deal contenders. Paris-based Sorare raised a $680 million Series B round at a €3.7 billion valuation just four years after its founding. Yuga Labs raised a $450 million seed round just a year after it was incorporated. And Berlin-based Trade Republic raised a $900 million Series C round at a $5.2 billion valuation in September. Outside of crypto, not too many companies reach even a $900 million valuation by the Series C.

While Dixon was the only investor on the list focused exclusively on crypto this year—landing in the top spot, no less—but he probably won’t be next year. The first quarter of 2022 already saw numerous crypto-focused firms raise oodles of cash, from Katie Haun’s Haun Ventures inking $1.5 billion and Electric Capital emerging from stealth with $1 billion.

Crypto boosted its presence on the list this year. Next year it could play a starring role. —B.S.

Brookfield, meanwhile, will pay $54.87 per share for CDK Global, a 30% premium to the price on Feb. 18, the last day before reports of a potential deal first emerged. Brookfield has been quite busy lately: Last week, it closed a previously announced $5.8 billion purchase of Scientific Games’ global lottery businesses, and in March it teamed with Elliott Management on a deal to buy TV ratings giant Nielsen for $16 billion. —K.D.

— Epic Games raised $2 billion at a $31.5 billion valuation. The North Carolina-based game studio—best known as the creator of Fortnite, but also behind games including Rocket League, Battle Breakers and Infinity Blade—raised funding from Sony Group and KIRKBI.

— Hellman & Friedman agreed to buy Information Resources and merge it with fellow market research firm NPD Group, with Bloomberg reporting the deal will create a combined company worth more than $8 billion. Current Information Resources owners Vestar Capital Partners and New Mountain Capital will retain minority stakes. H&F isn’t wasting any time in remaking NPD, having agreed to acquire the company just six months ago.

— Advent International signed on to buy Italian dessert supplier IRCA from Carlyle Group, with Reuters reporting the deal values IRCA at about €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion). The company sells chocolate and other dessert products and ingredients in 80 countries. Carlyle has owned a controlling stake in IRCA since 2017.

— London-based wine subscription club Crurated raised €3 million ($3.3 million), including from wine expert Chris Van Aeken and Dip WSET in addition to entrepreneurs and private wine collectors. Crurated plans to use the capital to build out its blockchain technology, which creates NFTs for its bottles. 

— Speaker powerhouse Sonos agreed to pay $100 million to acquire Mayht, a Dutch startup that makes smart speakers. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said he was drawn by Mayht’s “breakthrough in transducer technology,” which the company says makes it easier to build smaller speakers without sacrificing audio quality. 

— New York-based Parfait raised a $5 million seed round for its platform that uses facial-recognition tech to create custom wigs for its users. The round was led by Upfront Capital and Serena Ventures with participation from Contrary, Ulu Ventures and Unshackled Ventures, among others.

— Sun Capital Partners agreed to sell C&K to industrial manufacturer Littelfuse, valuing the maker of electromechanical switches at $540 million. Sun Capital bought C&K in 2017 and backed a pair of add-on acquisitions during its ownership.

The data also hint that investors weren’t anticipating the quarter’s slowdown. The average weekly pitch deck interactions at the beginning of 2022 were much higher than in the first few weeks of 2021. There were more pitch deck interactions on average during the first two weeks of 2022 than in any week in 2018, 2019 or 2020 and the majority of 2021, other than a brief spike in Q4 2021.

In Maryland, visitors are flocking to Downs Park on the shore of Chesapeake Bay to examine what might seem like a pretty boring sight: a very big ship that isn’t moving. (Wall Street Journal)

This year isn’t expected to be a great one for the fast-delivery sector. After raising $9.7 billion in venture capital in 2021, there has only been one big deal in the sector so far this year—for less than the company was looking for. (Bloomberg) 

With which competitor will Spirit Airlines decide to merge? No matter the answer, it could lead to a rare shakeup in the U.S. aviation industry. (New York Times)

The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund raised serious objections to investing in Jared Kushner’s private equity fund, Affinity Partners. But the sovereign wealth fund invested $2 billion anyway. (New York Times) 

Three years ago, Novalpina Capital bought NSO Group for $1 billion. Now, the controversial spyware maker’s new owner says it’s become “abundantly clear” that the company is “valueless.” (Financial Times)

An introduction to 10 up-and-coming hedge fund investors with a chance to become the next generation of Wall Street stars. (Institutional Investor)