European VC valuations continue their charge

VCs with the highest unicorn batting average; Riverstone stakes Blackhorn Ventures; Flutterwave lands $250M; Walking Fish reels in $73M
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The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A
February 17, 2022
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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
  • Our 2021 Annual European VC Valuations Report examines the key trends across stages, industries and regions that shaped valuations last year.

  • We take a look at US VC firms with an uncanny ability to make home runs out of early-stage investments by backing unicorns-to-be.

  • Riverstone has taken a stake in Blackhorn Ventures as it seeks to support its decarbonization strategy and access early-stage investments.
Today's Top Stories
Frenzied European dealmaking drives valuations through the roof
European VC valuations continued to break records in 2021 across all stages as investors competed fiercely to participate in outsized rounds.

Pandemic-induced growth for tech startups and an increase in nontraditional investors helped drive the astonishing climb in companies' price tags. Our 2021 Annual European VC Valuations Report takes an in-depth look at the key trends across stages, industries and regions that shaped valuations last year. Highlights include:
  • Median late-stage valuations rose more than 61% year-over-year, contributing to the creation of dozens of new unicorns.

  • Software startups benefited the most from the boost, with pre-money valuations for late-stage companies roughly doubling from their previous record in 2020.

  • The aggregate post-money valuation of European unicorns grew to €329.7 billion in 2021, nearly tripling from 2020's total.

  • Strong exit activity produced a bumper year for 2021 post-money valuations, with the upper quartile seeing a 143.3% increase year-over-year.
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Thrive, Ribbit lead VCs with the highest unicorn batting average
(Vershinin/Getty Images)
There's nothing wrong with backing a company after it has emerged as a market leader, but the skill of VC investing lies in spotting those startups early on.

So which firms are most adept at making home runs out of early-stage investments? In this analysis, we take a look at US VC firms with an uncanny ability to back unicorns-to-be.
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Riverstone eyes early-stage investments with stake in Blackhorn
(Karl Hendon/Getty Images)
Energy-focused buyout specialist Riverstone is staking early-stage investor Blackhorn Ventures as it seeks to diversify its portfolio and gain access to early-stage investment opportunities.

The deal is one of only three reported instances in the last two years in which a PE firm has taken a minority stake in a VC firm, according to PitchBook data.
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HV Capital launches VC continuation fund amid secondaries growth
Munich-based HV Capital said the new vehicle is the first of its kind in Germany's tech sector. (Harald Nachtmann/Getty Images)
HV Capital has launched a €430 million (about $489 million) venture capital continuation fund to acquire existing portfolio investments from a handful of legacy vehicles.

The HV COCO Growth fund comes at a time when VCs consider ways to hold investments for longer and secondary deal activity ramps up in the venture space—while IPOs and SPAC listings slow down.
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A look at the unlikely supply chain woes holding up home building. [The New York Times]

A move to a cheaper city comes with a pay cut at many tech companies. But amid a hot talent market, some businesses are finding a different way to handle such relocations. [Protocol]

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Quick Takes
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2014 Vintage Global PE Funds  
  A message from Moss Adams  
  Fintech continues to evolve  
  VC Deals  
  Uniphore books $400M Series E  
  Flutterwave picks up $250M Series D  
  Tiger Global leads $200M round for Genesis  
  Spotter raises $200M to support creator platform  
  Walking Fish Therapeutics lands $73M  
  Equip scoops up $58M  
  PE Deals  
  Blackstone to buy apartment operator for $5.8B  
  CVC Capital, Brookfield among bidders for Starbucks franchise stake  
  Blue Owl lands Wellfleet Credit Partners  
  Exits & IPOs  
  Charlesbank to sell Sound United  
  LLCP offloads pizza franchisor  
 
 
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The Daily Benchmark
2014 Vintage Global PE Funds
Median IRR
18.20%
Top Quartile IRR
26.20%
1.72x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
Consonance Private Equity
Ufenau IV German Asset Light
Spectrum Equity VII
*IRR: net of fees
100 Funds in Benchmark »
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A message from Moss Adams
Fintech continues to evolve
Private investment in fintech accumulated gradually throughout the 2010s, culminating in record-breaking tallies in 2021 and easily exceeding $100 billion in aggregate deal value to date.

Learn how as investment has grown, mature fintechs have commanded larger financings, fueling rapid expansion as well as preparations for liquidity events.
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VC Deals
Uniphore books $400M Series E
Uniphore has raised $400 million at a $2.5 billion valuation in a round led by NEA. Based in Palo Alto, the company is the developer of a conversational automation platform designed to help enterprise businesses manage interactions with their customers.
Additional Investor:
March Capital
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Flutterwave picks up $250M Series D
Flutterwave has raised $250 million at a valuation of more than $3 billion in a round led by B Capital Group. The company, which offers a cloud-based payments platform, has offices in Lagos, Nigeria, and San Francisco.
Select Additional Investors:
Alta Park Capital, Avenir Growth, Glynn Capital, Green Visor Capital, Lux Capital, Tiger Global, Whale Rock Capital
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View 47 competitors »
 
Tiger Global leads $200M round for Genesis
Genesis has raised a $200 million Series C led by Tiger Global. The company offers an application development platform for financial institutions.
Additional Investors:
Accel, GV, Illuminate Financial Management, Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Tribeca Early Stage Partners
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Spotter raises $200M to support creator platform
Spotter has raised a $200 million Series D led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Founded in 2019, the funding values the Los Angeles-based company at $1.7 billion. Spotter helps YouTube creators scale operations and license existing content by providing upfront cash.
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Walking Fish Therapeutics lands $73M
Walking Fish Therapeutics has raised a $73 million Series A co-led by Northpond Ventures and First Spark Ventures, with support from Terra Magnum Capital Partners. Based in the Bay Area, the company is a developer of B cell therapeutics intended to help patients with cancer or protein-deficiency diseases.
View round
 
View 1 competitors »
 
Equip scoops up $58M
Equip has raised a $58 million Series B led by The Chernin Group. Based in San Diego, the company is a provider of virtual eating disorder treatment programs.
Additional Investors:
.406 Ventures, Alex Morgan, F-Prime Capital, General Catalyst, Katie Couric, Optum Ventures, Tiger Global
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PE Deals
Blackstone to buy apartment operator for $5.8B
Blackstone has agreed to acquire Preferred Apartment Communities for $5.8 billion. The firm will pay $25 a share for the company, which owns and operates multifamily properties and more. That represents a 40% premium to PAC's closing stock price Feb. 9, the day before reports of a potential deal began circulating.
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CVC Capital, Brookfield among bidders for Starbucks franchise stake
CVC Capital Partners, Brookfield, ADQ, Mubadala and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund have made separate bids for a 30% interest in the Starbucks franchise located in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Central Asia that's currently owned by Alshaya Group, according to reports. The overall franchise is said to be worth between $11 billion and $15 billion.
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Blue Owl lands Wellfleet Credit Partners
Blue Owl Capital has agreed to purchase Wellfleet Credit Partners from Littlejohn & Co. Private merchant banking firm Wellfleet manages collateralized loan obligation portfolios of broadly syndicated leveraged loans. The deal is expected to close in March.
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Exits & IPOs
Charlesbank to sell Sound United
Medical technology company Masimo Corporation has agreed to acquire Sound United, a provider of home audio products including speakers, amplifiers and headphones. Charlesbank Capital Partners has backed Sound United since 2011.
View details
 
View 27 competitors »
 
LLCP offloads pizza franchisor
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has sold its stake in Mountain Mike's Pizza to an entity controlled by the company's CEOs. Mountain Mike's Pizza is a franchisor of over 245 pizza restaurants in California, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Nevada.
View details
 
View 20 competitors »
 
Chart of the Day
Source: PitchBook's 2021 Annual Global Private Debt Report
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