ET CETERA
OUT: Irene Rosenfeld will step down as CEO of Mondelez International in March, Coins2Day’s Beth Kowitt reports. Dirk Van de Put, currently the president and CEO of Mondelez-owned McCain Foods will take over.
Rosenfeld has a legacy of bold, transformative M&A moves: The $20 billion deal for Cadbury in 2010, the splitting of Kraft to create Mondelez, and last summer’s failed bid for Hershey. She tells Kowitt:
“I had the courage to make some bold moves that weren’t the easy route but were the right route,” she told Coins2Day. Rosenfeld said she considered herself a “chess player, not a checkers player” and has therefore always looked two to three moves ahead. “That’s always served us exceptionally well," she added.
Her successor faces the daunting goals of making e-commerce a $1 billion business by 2020 and getting half of the company’s revenue from healthy products. But Rosenfeld downplayed any major dealmaking moves, emphasizing smaller add-on deals and geographic expansion:
“There’s a tendency every time you see M&A activity to just assume that’s the beginning of a trend. I feel quite satisfied with our portfolio today. I think we have large runway of opportunity to address consumer white space in health and well-being with the current portfolio, and also the opportunity to expand geographically. The opportunity to put each of our strong snacking categories and iconic brands into geographies where we don’t have a presence today is a big growth engine for us. Our focus is really going to be organic growth supplemented by tack-on acquisitions.” Read more.
500: Beyond a blog post, Christine Tsai, co-founder of 500 Startups, has not spoken publicly about the sexual harassment and assault allegations against former 500 Startups CEO Dave McClure. On Tuesday, she addressed the issue at the 500 Startups accelerator demo day in Mountain View. Term Sheet wasn’t there but VentureBeat and Recode were:
Tsai started off by acknowledging that many brave women have risked their careers to come forward, adding that “500 wants to be a part of the solution in ending sexual harassment.” She went on to thank entrepreneurs and VCs for their support and underlined that 500 Startup’s mission is much bigger than one person. She did name her cofounder, Dave McClure, referring to his recent resignation, but was very careful in her choice of words. Read more.
“For many of you this was a confusing, emotional time where you probably questioned the 500 that you knew,” Tsai said, reading from prepared remarks. “This mission is much bigger than just one person. And it’s way too important to be taken down by one person’s mistakes. Tsai, who took over to lead the firm after McClure stepped down, promised that 500 Startups would “aim to be part of the solution” in the coming months. Read more.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: I’m not eager to give Nin Desai of Nin Ventures more attention after she apparently lied about her advisors and then attacked reporters (including me) on Twitter for reporting on it. Despite her refusal to discuss the situation, or even name any portfolio companies, her firm keeps soliciting me via email to invest in her fund.
Here’s the pitchdeck. The team members she names are completely different from the ones listed on her website. As we noted in May and as Dan Primack reported more extensively recently, most of them no longer work at the firm or have never worked there.
Anyway, today Desai is hosting a conference call for prospective investors at 1 p.m. CST. Given the fact that she continues to raise money but won’t respond to any questions about her firm or fund, we may have to dial in…
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THE LATEST FROM FORTUNE...
• The Dow broke 22,000.
• Tim Cook defends decision to censor Chinese apps.
• Enough asking women about their plans to have babies.
• Bitcoin’s new currency tops $200 on day one.
• The GOP rebellion on Obamacare.
• Phase 2 testing for Hyperloop One.
…AND ELSEWHERE
Beyonce may buy a stake in the Houston Rockets. Facebook working on a video chat device. Stripe teams up with Amazon. The sale of Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital goes on. An advice column from Jeff Bezos.
VENTURE DEALS
• Dianrong, a China-based peer-to-peer lending platform, raised $220 million in funding, according to Reuters. GIC Pte Ltd led the round. Read more.
• Impossible Foods, a Redwood City, Calif.-based maker of plant-based meat and dairy products, raised $75 million in funding. Temasek led the round, and was joined by Open Philanthropy Project, Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and Horizon Ventures.
• SoundCloud, a Berlin-based social sound platform, is close to selling stakes to the Raine Group and Temasek Holdings, according to Bloomberg. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Read more.
• ETC Global Group, a Los Angeles and Toronto-based brokerage and clearing group, raised up to $68 million in funding. Investors include Cerberus Capital Management LP and Quantlab Investments LLC.
• Juvo, a San Francisco-based provider of mobile identity scoring, raised $40 million in Series B funding. New Enterprise Associates and Wing Venture Capital led the round, and were joined by investors including SignalFire.
• M17 Entertainment, a Taiwan-based social entertainment company, raised $40 million in Series A funding, according to TechCrunch. Read more.
• Personal Capital, a Redwood City, Calif.-based digital wealth manager, raised $40 million in funding. IGM Financial led the round.
• Gimlet Media, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based podcasting startup, raised $15 million in funding, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Investors include Stripes Group and Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective. Read more.
• VIOME, a Cupertino, Calif.-based AI powered wellness service, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Khosla Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Bold Capital Partners.
• GuardiCore, an Israel-based developer of internal data center security and breach detection solutions, raised an additional $15 million in a Series B funding extension. This brings the company's total funding to $48 million. TPG Growth and Greenfield Partners led the additional investment.
• ProoV, an Israel-based PoC platform that enables businesses to test new technologies, raised $14 million in Series B funding. Helios Capital and Mangrove Capital Partners led the round, and were joined by investors including OurCrowd and Cerca Partners.
• PeerIQ, a New York-based provider of data and analytics for the lending sector, raised $12 million in Series A funding. Investors include TransUnion, Hearst’s Financial Venture Fund, Macquarie Group, Uprising and John Mack.
• Azuqua, a Seattle-based provider of cloud application connectivity for business users, raised $10.8 million in Series B funding. Insight Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by DFJ and Ignition Partners.
• Ritual, a West Hollywood, Calif.-based health technology vitamin company, raised $10.5 million in Series A funding. Founders Fund led the round, and was joined by investors including Forerunner Ventures, Norwest, and Upfront Ventures.
• Branch Messenger, Inc, a Minneapolis-based employee self-service platform for hourly workforces, raised more than $10 million in funding. March Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by investors including CrossCut Ventures, and Techstars Ventures, Matchstick Ventures.
• Ironclad, a San Francisco-based provider of intelligent contract management software, raised $8 million in Series A funding. Accel led the round. Read more at Coins2Day.
• Hustle a San Francisco-based one-to-one text messaging platform, raised $8 million in Series A funding. Social Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including Twilio.org Impact Fund, and Canvas Ventures.
• SpaceIQ, a Mountain View, Calif.-based workplace management platform, raised $7 million in Series A funding. Investors include Vertex Ventures, Xplorer Capital, Bullpen Capital, Divergent Ventures and RoundTwo Capital.
• Limelight Health, a San Francisco and Redding, Calif.-based provider of mobile insurance technology, raised $7 million in Series B funding. MassMutual Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including AXA Strategic Ventures, Wanxiang Healthcare Investment s, Portag3 Ventures LP and Plug and Play Ventures.
• Drive Motors, a San Francisco-based e-commerce provider for auto dealerships, raised $5.2 million in seed funding. Bullpen Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Perkins Coie LLP, and Emagen Entertainment Group.
• Fruit Street Health, a New York City-based digital health and telehealth startup, raised $3 million in funding. Dr. Jeremy Tucker led the round.
• Vetted, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based provider of on-demand, in-home veterinary services, raised $3.3 million in seed funding, according to TechCrunch. Investors include Foundation Capital, Amplify LA, Sterling.VC and Reimagined Ventures. Read more.
• Botmetric, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based AI-powered cloud management platform, raised $3 million in Series A funding. Blume Ventures led the round.
• Sendence, a New York City-based data platform provider, raised $1.5 million in funding. Investors include Boldstart Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, Greycroft, Notation Capital and Resolute Ventures.
• Neurable, a Cambridge, Mass.-based brain-computer interface tech startup, raised funding of an undisclosed amount from the Zell Lurie Founders Fund at the University of Michigan’s Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
• Betterez, a Toronto-based reservations and ticketing platform for bus and motorcoach service providers, raised funding of an undisclosed amount. Investors include JetBlue Technology Ventures.
• Helpling, a Germany-based marketplace for booking household services such as home cleaning, raised funding of an undisclosed amount from Unilever Ventures.
HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES DEALS
• Homology Medicines Inc, a Bedford, Mass.-based genetic medicines company, raised $83.5 million in Series B funding. Deerfield Management led the round, and was joined by Fidelity Management & Research Company, HBM Healthcare Investments, Maverick Ventures, Novartis, Rock Springs Capital, Vida Ventures, Vivo Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, 5AM Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners and Temasek.
• Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc, a Canada-based clinical stage cardiovascular company, raised $55 million in Series C funding. Novo Holdings A/S led the round, and was joined by investors including Forbion Capital Partners, Tekla Capital Management, Domain Associates, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, BDC Capital, Pappas Capital and GO Capital.
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
• PharMerica Corp (NYSE:PMC) agreed to be acquired by a newly formed company controlled by buyout firm KKR & Co LP, for $1.4 billion, according to Reuters. Under the deal, PharMerica's shareholders will receive $29.25 per share in cash, representing a 16.8% premium to the company's closing price on Aug.1. Read more.
• Tennenbaum Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs bought Conergy Asia & ME Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based solar energy company, and its subsidiaries, according to Reuters. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Read more.
• HBM Holdings acquired Schafer Industries, a South Bend, Ind.-based producer of gears and machined parts for transaxles, brake assemblies and other components for off-road vehicles. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
• Mason Wells acquired King Juice Company, a Milwaukee-based maker of beverages and owner of the Calypso beverage brand. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
• HCAP Partners made an investment of an undisclosed amount in Baked in the Sun, a Vista, Calif.-based maker of fresh and frozen baked goods products.
• MTS Health Investors made an investment of an undisclosed amount in Accuity Delivery Systems, a New York-based provider of clinical documentation and client education services for the healthcare sector.
• Thomas H. Lee Partners will recapitalize Ten-X, an Irvine, Calif.-based online real estate marketplace. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
OTHER DEALS
• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE:JEC) will buy CH2M Hill Cos Ltd, an Englewood, Colo.-based engineering-services firm, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $3.27 billion, according to Reuters. Read more.
• Beyoncé is mulling an investment in the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets, a professional basketball team. The club’s popularity in China may push the sale price past $2 billion. Read more at Coins2Day.
• WideOpenWest, Inc. (NYSE: WOW) has agreed to sell a portion of its fiber network in the its Chicago market to a subsidiary of Verizon (NYSE: VZ) for $225 million in cash.
• Sovos acquired Paperless, a Chile-based eReceipts and eDocuments cloud company. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
IPOS
• Ranger Energy Services, a Stafford, Texas-based provider of equipment and solutions to the oil and gas industry, set its IPO terms. The company plans to sell 5 million shares priced between $16 and $18 per share, and would raise $85 million if it priced at the midpoint of its proposed range. Ranger Energy Services plans to list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol RNGR. Credit Suisse, Simmons & Company, and Wells Fargo served as the bookrunners on the deal.
EXITS
• Peak 10, a portfolio company of GI Partners, acquired ViaWest, a Greenwood Village, Colo.-based scale provider of colocation, connectivity, cloud, and managed solutions, from Shaw Communications Inc, for $1.675 billion.
• Bridgepoint will buy Miller Homes, a U.K.-based homebuilding services provider, for 655 million pounds ($865.6 million), from a subsidiary of Blackstone, according to Reuters. Read more.
• Snap (NYSE:SNAP) is in talks to buy Zero Zero Robotics, a China-based selfie drone maker for $150 to $200 million. Zero Zero Robotics had raised approximately $25 million in venture funding from investors including IDG Ventures, GSR Ventures, ZhenFund, and Zuig Investment. Read more.
• Industrial Opportunity Partners sold Kuss Filtration Inc, a Findlay, Ohio-based specialty air and liquid filtration solutions provider, to GVS SpA. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
• Gangsu Gangtai Holding Group Co Ltd agreed to acquire a majority stake in Buccellati, a Milan-based jewelry brand. The sellers were Clessidra and the Buccellati family. The value of the deal is 230 million euros ($272 million).
• OLAmobile acquired mobile performance marketing startup IconPeak and its subsidiary BidderPlace for $10 million. The seller was MAKERS.
• Hubble Connected will acquire Kaishi Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based connected device and app platform for pregnancy. The sellers were BCG Digital Ventures and Allianz.
• Wind Point Partners sold Performance Optics, a Ramsey, Minn.-based ophthalmic lens manufacturer, and its subsidiaries VISION EASE and Daemyung Optical Co. Ltd, to HOYA Corporation.
FIRMS + FUNDS
• Limerston Capital, a London-based private equity firm, raised more than £200 million ($264 million) for its debut fund, Limerston Capital Partners I, L.P.
• Volpi Capital Investments, a U.K.-based private equity firm, raised $54 million toward a $108 million venture fund, according to an SEC filing.
• North Bridge Growth Equity, a Waltham, Mass.-based private equity and venture capital firm, is being rebranded as Guidepost Growth Equity.
PEOPLE
• Capstone Partners hired Peter Asiaf as managing director, Chris Ferrara as director and Caitlyn Dargel, James Kline, Nick Littas, Josh Owczarski and Jay Wongwatana-anan as analysts.
• BoxGroup promoted Greg Rosen to principal.
• Varun Jain has been appointed the head of Qualcomm Ventures’ Early Stage Fund.
• Ken Parsons joined Susquehanna Private Capital as an associate. Previously, he was at Freeman & Co.
• Shaun Mehra joined Citadel as an associate. Previously, Mehra was at Longitude Capital.
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Polina Marinova produces Term Sheet, and Lucinda Shen compiles the IPO news. Send deal announcements to Polina here and IPO news to Lucinda here.
