13 May 2019 – Uber Raises $8.1bn in IPO

The Big Ones

Uber has finally gone public, raising $8.1bn in an IPO that allowed SoftBank Vision Fund to retain its position as largest shareholder while selling $249m of shares. The company priced its shares toward the lower end of the range, and so fell well short of early reports suggesting it could be valued at up to $120bn.

SoftBank is still weighing up options for boosting the size of its Vision Fund to match its ongoing flurry of investments, and is reportedly considering taking it to the public markets. It has spoken to banks about a possible IPO for the fund in addition to talking to Oman about a multibillion-dollar contribution to a second Vision Fund.

General Motors acquired autonomous driving software provider Cruise Automation in 2016 and has now contributed to a $1.15bn funding round featuring Honda and SoftBank Vision Fund, and which valued it at $19bn post-money.

And in a nice crossover, Twentyeight-Seven (28-7) Therapeutics, a US-based cancer drug development spinout of Harvard University, has extended its series A round to $82.8m with a $15m second tranche backed by spinout-focused investment firm Osage University Partners.

Deals

Megvii’s facial recognition technology is facing scrutiny due to its role in China’s increasingly widespread surveillance activities, but that doesn’t seem to have deterred investors.

Chinese smart electric car developer Byton is raising $100m from automotive manufacturer FAW Group that will form part of a series C round Byton expects to close at $500m.

Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments has invested in VC asset management platform and services provider Carta as part of a $300m series E round that valued it at $1.7bn.

Electronics and appliance retailer Suning has agreed to commit $210m to a fund being raised by private equity firm Yunfeng Capital that is expected to close at $2.5bn.

MGI, genomics service provider BGI’s genetic sequencing technology spinoff, has raised $200m in funding from several institutional investors, money that will be put toward R&D and international expansion.

Taxi-ordering platform developer Gett has added $120m from Volkswagen and Access Industries to a round that now totals $200m, at a $1.5bn post-money valuation.

Funds

Electronics and appliance retailer Suning has agreed to commit $210m to a fund being raised by private equity firm Yunfeng Capital that is expected to close at $2.5bn.

On GUV, MIT Solve, the social enterprise incubator and forum run by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is looking to raise $30m for an impact-centred philanthropic investment vehicle dubbed Solve Innovation Fund.

Exits

Razor and men’s grooming product subscription service Harry’s has agreed to a $1.37bn purchase by Edgewell, owner of brands like Wilkinson Sword and Schick.

DouYu was planning to kick off its IPO roadshow this week but has instead put proceedings on hold, due to US tariffs on Chinese imports. The China-based game streaming and eSports platform developer had set an initial $500m target, and Tencent – the internet group that is the world’s largest game publisher – owns more than 40% of the company.


“Funky Chunk” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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