Term Sheet — Monday, April 1

FACT VS. FICTION

Good morning, Term Sheet readers. I want to start today’s newsletter with an announcement that I’ll be moving to the coast of Italy to pursue my true passions of sleep and reading for pleasure. I will sincerely miss you guys.

Ha, just kidding. It’s April Fools Day! (If you’re my editor & you’re reading this, I apologize. Please don’t fire me.) Anyway, today is a good opportunity to sort out fact from fiction in the investing world.

NOT A JOKE:

A unicorn gets more money: Toast, a Boston-based restaurant management platform, raised $250 million at a $2.7 billion valuation. The company plans to use the capital to expand outside of the U.S. As well as to build technology to help restaurants with marketing, recruitment and operational efficiency. TCV and Tiger Global Management led the round, and were joined by investors including Bessemer Venture Partners and T. Rowe Price Associates funds.

Evan Spiegel’s sister launches “no-visuals” porn site: Caroline Spiegel, the 22-year-old sister of Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, is debuting her first startup called Quinn. The site is described as “a much less gross, more fun Pornhub for women” that will feature audio and written stories. Spiegel has already raised less than a million dollars for her venture.

Elon Musk releases a hip-hop single: I really thought this one was an early April Fools joke, but it doesn’t appear it is? On Saturday, billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a link to a SoundCloud track titled “RIP Harambe” about a dated internet meme revolving around the death of Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, which was killed in May 2016 after a 4-year-old boy fell into the gorilla’s enclosure. “This might be my finest work,” Musk tweeted. I just, I don’t even know.

… AND HERE’S WHERE YOU GOT FOOLED:

HelloFresh launches a “unicorn box:” Food delivery service HelloFresh says it has launched a unicorn box option, filled with glitter, confetti, frosting, and sugar to “help you capture the perfect Instagram and channel your inner unicorn.” Because if you don’t feel like a billion dollars, are you actually worth a billion dollars?

Tinder introduces a “height verification” tool: When it comes to online dating, people don’t abide by the adage of “honesty is the best policy” — especially when it comes to height. So online dating service Tinder is taking matters into its own hands. “It’s come to our attention that most of you 5’10ers out there are actually 5’6. The charade must stop,” reads a blog post. Enter the height verification tool.

Here’s how it works: “Simply input your true, accurate height with a screenshot of you standing next to any commercial building. We’ll do some state-of-the-art verifying and you’ll receive your badge directly on your profile.” Tinder also offers a cringe-worthy stat: Only 14.5% of the U.S. Male population is actually 6 foot and beyond, while 80% of males on Tinder are claiming that they are well over 6 feet. Stay vigilant out there.

...And of course, a nod to the VC starter kit: The VC starter kit, which is inspired by this satirical Coins2Day article, offers a Patagonia fleece vest, Allbirds, and the books Sapiens and Zero to One for the current and aspiring venture capitalist in your life.

BIGGEST MISSES: I’ve received some excellent responses from Term Sheet readers on the biggest investments they passed on. Last call to do this: Email me at [email protected] with the subject line “Biggest miss,” and answer the question, “What are your most painful misses, and why did you pass on the deal at the time?”

EYE ON AI: Be sure to check out Coins2Day’s latest newsletter called Eye on A.I. The weekly briefing on the intersection of artificial intelligence and industry will give you an overarching view of A.I. And show you where it excels and where it fails. Subscribe here.

VENTURE DEALS

• Xealth, a Seattle-based digital prescribing platform, raised $11 million in Series A funding. Investors include McKesson Ventures, Novartis, Philips, ResMed,Threshold Ventures, Providence Ventures, UPMC, Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network.

• Novo, a New York City-based banking startup, raised $4.8 million in seed funding. Investors include Crosslink Capital, Red Sea Ventures, RRE and Hack VC.

• Blume, a Canada-based female hygiene subscription box service, raised $3.3 million in seed funding. Felicis Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Victress Capital.

• Hack The Box Ltd, a cybersecurity testing lab startup, raised $1.3 million in funding. Marathon Venture Capital led the round.

HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES DEALS

• SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, raised $125 million in Series B funding. Perceptive Advisors led the round, and was joined by investors including Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, HBM Healthcare Investments, BVF Partners, Surveyor Capital, Samsara BioCapital, ArrowMark Partners, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), and Laurion Capital Management.

• Inivata, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of liquid biopsy, raised $52.6 million in Series B funding. Investors include Woodford Patient Capital Trust, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC and RT Ventures.

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• Centre Partners acquired a majority stake in One World Fitness, the owner and operator of fitness clubs under the Planet Fitness banner. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• Worley Claims Services, which is backed by Aquiline Capital Partners, acquired Alacrity Renovation Services, a Eugene, Ore.-based provider of property casualty claim solutions, from Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• Freeman Spogli & Company acquired Five Star Food Service, Inc, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based provider of on-site food and beverage services. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

OTHER DEALS

• Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) acquired Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (LSE:JLT) for $5.6 billion in fully diluted equity value.

• Intapp acquired gwabbit, a Carmel Valley, Calif.-based enterprise relationship management platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IPOs

• Jumia, an Berlin-based African e-commerce platform, plans to raise $196 million in an offering of 13.5 million ADS priced between $13 to $16. The firm posted revenue of $150 million on 2018 and loss of $194 million. Firms including MTN and Rocket Internet back the company. Morgan Stanley, Citi, Berenberg Bank, and RBC Capital Markets are underwriters. It plans to list on the NYSE as “JMIA.” Read more.

• PagerDuty, a San Francisco-based operations and analytics platform maker, says it plans to raise $181.4 million in an IPO of 9.1 million shares (6% insider) priced between $19 to $21. Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer, and Accel back the firm. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, RBC Capital Markets, and Allen & Company are underwriters. It plans to list on the NYSE as “PD.” Read more.

• EHang, the Chinese drone maker, has reportedly delayed its $200 million IPO, Reuters reports citing sources. Read more.

• Tufin Software Technologies, an Israel-based enterprise software manager for network security policies, plans to raise $100.1 million in an IPO of 7.7 million shares priced between $12 to $14. The firm posted revenue of $85 million in 2018 and loss of $4.4 million in 2018. Catalyst Private Equity Partners (26.4%) backs the firm. J.P. Morgan, Barclays, and Jefferies are underwriters. It plans to list on the NYSE as “TUFN.” Read more.

• Network International, the Middle Eastern payments processor, has set the range of its IPO for a valuation of up to $3 billion. Emirates NBD PJSC, Warburg Pincus, and General Atlantic back the firm. Read more.

FIRMS + FUNDS

• One Equity Partners, a private equity firm that spun out of JPMorgan Chase, raised more than $1 billion for its seventh fund, according to SEC filings.