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The Big 3
Innogy Innovation Hub was formed in 2014 and its first fund was supplied with €300m (roughly $385m at that point) from Innogy, but it has told GCV that it is getting ready to raise a second fund and is exploring partnerships with additional corporate LPs from the energy sector as well as potentially outside. In a wide ranging interview, Innovation Hub also said it has moved from an incubator/VC model to more direct investment, and detailed why its focus beyond energytech is so crucial to the future of the sector.
It’s a big week for IPOs, with two big unicorns both floating above their respective ranges. The larger offering involves Rakuten-backed visual social media platform Pinterest, which has raised approximately $1.43bn in an offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
Zoom on the other hand is profitable, and it floated in a $751m IPO in which Qualcomm sold more than $30m of shares – pretty impressive considering it first invested in the video conferencing software provider in its $6m series A round
University
Analysis: Slow and steady does it in the first quarter
AskBio pops $235m question
Exits
Turning Point Therapeutics has gone public in a $167m initial public offering in which it floated at the top of its range. The precision cancer therapy developer had raised $145m in funding from investors including Lilly Asia Ventures and SR One, corporate VC vehicles for Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline, which each owned 8.2% stakes pre-IPO.
Applied Therapeutics pushes for public markets
Sonim sounds out Nasdaq for IPO
Willow Biosciences follows public path
Axcella Health accelerates towards IPO
Cortexyme craves public markets listing
Jumia has floated in a $196m IPO in the US, with almost half the shares being bought by existing investors Axa, Orange and Pernod Ricard Deutschland. Mastercard acquired even more shares through a private placement, and despite the online marketplace currently recording losses that surpass its revenue, its shares popped on Friday.
SolarWinds has agreed to buy Samanage, a provider of IT service desk management software, in a $350m deal that will represent Salesforce Ventures’ latest exit.
PayU onboards Wibmo in $70m acquisition
Salesforce locates MapAnything for acquisition deal
Vimeo has agreed to snap up Magisto for a reported $200m in order to add the company’s easy-to-use video creation and editing technology to its online video streaming platform.
Funds
Globis maps out $321m for sixth fund
Vtron takes a seat at $72m education fund
Deals
SK Group has made a $250m strategic investment in Londian Group, which is aiming to become the world’s leading copper foil supplier as it looks to nail down a prominent position in the materials supply space for products such as lithium-ion batteries and communications technology.
Shift moves series D round to $180m
Sila Nanotechnologies is preparing to commercialise its advanced battery materials, which it estimates can improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries by up to 20%, and in the meantime it has secured $170m in a series E round led by Daimler.
Lyric, the owner of a short-term accommodation booking platform for business travellers, has taken a big jump forward, raising $160m in a series B round led by Airbnb.
Outreach re-engages with investors to raise $114m
Dianrong is among the Chinese peer-to-peer lending platforms waiting to see if they will be among the companies issued lending licences from the government, but in the meantime it is seeking $100m in funding, reportedly from a group that includes existing investors Orix and Standard Chartered.
Black Sesame racks up $100m
Gen.G generates $46m round
“Funky Chunk” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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