Acquiring Clubhouse would have been Twitter’s biggest bet yet

Good morning, readers.

So… remember how Clubhouse, having launched just about a year ago, is apparently raising funding at a $4 billion valuation?

Twitter may have played a role in driving up the audio-only social company’s valuation, Bloomberg reports in this fascinating scoop. The Jack Dorsey-led shop is said to have “discussed a potential valuation of roughly $4 billion for Clubhouse” in recent months. And while the talks stalled, the number stuck, leading to discussions around raising additional capital at said figure.

The story is shocking not only in the enormous valuation for such a young business, but also in the amount Twitter had apparently been willing to fork over.

Twitter has made many acquisitions in the past, but all known price tags have fallen short of $1 billion: Based on data from Pitchbook, Twitter’s highest valued acquisitions have been those of advertising technology company TellApart in 2015 for about $479 million, and mobile advertising startup MoPub in 2013 for about $350 million.

But now, the company certainly has more means to make big bets. With its stock near an all-time high, Twitter shares make for valuable M&A currency. That hasn’t always been the case. The social media company has struggled to regain the investor interest it held following its public market debut in 2013, when the company was valued at as much as $41.5 billion. But bolstered by a pandemic and messy U.S. Presidential election, the company finally rose from its seven-year-long stall in the doldrums and notched a new record late last year. While it has lost some of those gains since, Twitter is now valued at about $55 billion.

At any rate, even without a tie-up with Clubhouse, Twitter has built its own product noted for similarities to the new kid on the block, dubbed Spaces.

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Twitter at the center of more such reports, looking to acquire—if only to gain more insight into the inner workings of—such buzzy startups.

Term Sheet has reached out to Twitter and Clubhouse for comment.

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email:  [email protected]

VENTURE DEALS

- StockX, a Detroit, Mich.-based reseller of sneakers and other goods, raised $60 million in Series E-1 funding and also sold $195 million via a secondary offering, valuing it at $3.8 billion. Altimeter Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Dragoneer.

- Kavak, a Mexico-based used car startup, raised $485 million in Series D funding, valuing it at $4 billion. D1 Capital Partners, Founders Fund, Ribbit, and BOND led the round. Read more.

- API Holdings, an India-based company with a digital pharmacy platform, closed a $350 million Series E funding to deepen market engagement across 100K pharmacies and more than 20 million patients annually. Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) and TPG Growth led the round and were joined by investors including Temasek, CDPQ, LGT Lightrock, Eight Roads & Think Investments.

- Kolonial, a Norway-based online grocery store, raised NOK2.2 billion ($265 million). Kinnevik, Softbank and Prosus led the round.

- Phenom, an Ambler, Pa.-based hiring and recruitment platform, raised $100 million in Series D funding. B Capital Group led the round and was joined by investors including Dragoneer Investment Group, OMERS Growth Equity, and GoldenArc Capital.

- Gupshup, a San Francisco-based conversational messaging platform, raised $100 million in funding. Tiger Global Management led the round, valuing the company at $1.4 billion. It is also planning a second close.

- WhiteSource, a New York-based source security and management platform, raised $75 million in Series D funding. Pitango Growth led the round and was joined by investors including M12, Susquehanna Growth Equity, and 83North.

- Firefly Health, a Watertown, Mass.-based virtual healthcare company, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by investors including F-Prime Capital and Oak HC/FT.

- Snorkel AI, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based enterprise A.I. Company, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Greylock, GV, In-Q-Tel, and Nepenthe Capital.

- Streamlit, a San Francisco-based machine learning startup, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Sequoia led the round and was joined by investors including Gradient Ventures and GGV Capital. Read more.

- Alyce, a Boston-based sales and marketing platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by investors including Boston Seed Capital, Golden Ventures, Manifest, Morningside, and Victress Capital.

- Tines, a Dublin-based cybersecurity automation platform, raised $26 million in Series B funding. Addition led the round and was joined by investors including Accel and Blossom Capital.

- Pathlight, a San Francisco-based platform for their customer-facing teams, raised $25 million. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Kleiner Perkins and Quiet Capital.

- AxleHire, an Emeryville, Calif.-based last-mile delivery logistics company, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Ajax Strategies led the round and was joined by investors including Eclipse Ventures, Quiet Logistics, Bee Partners, and Acorn Pacific Ventures.

- IRIS.TV, a Los Angeles-based video data platform, raised $18 million in Series B funding. Intel Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Wise Ventures, Quest Venture Partners, and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.

- Carta Healthcare, a San Francisco-based provider of clinical data abstraction technology and services, raised $17.3 million in Series A funding. Storm Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including AI Digital Innovation Fund (affiliated with Mass General Brigham), CU Health Innovation Fund (affiliated with University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus), Asset Management Ventures, Maverick Ventures, Healthy Ventures, Waterline Ventures, Seven Peaks Ventures, Katalyst Ventures, and Atypical Ventures.

- Fuel50, a Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based human resources tech platform, raised $15.5 million in Series B. PeakSpan Capital and Shearwater Capital led the round.

- Nuvocargo, a U.S. And Mexico trade startup, raised $12 million in Series A funding. QED Investors led the round and was joined by investors including David Velez (CEO of Nubank), Michael Ronen (co-founder, Branded), FJ Labs, Clocktower, Karim Atiyeh (Founder of Ramp), Raymond Tonsing (Caffeinated Capital), Satya Patel (Homebrew), and Sebastian Castro (Founder of Kushki).

- Klevu, a Finland-based maker of search technology for retail e-commerce sites, raised $12 million in Series A funding. Alfvén & Didrikson led the round.

- CrowdAI, a San Francisco-based vision A.I. Tech company, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Threshold Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Susa Ventures, SV Angel, Jerry Yang at AME Cloud, and Y Combinator.

- Rollick, an Austin-based maker of marketing tech, raised $8.5 million. Investors included Dallas Venture Capital.

- Rock The Bells, a Los Angeles-based Hip-Hop merchandise seller from LL COOL J, raised $8 million in Series A funding. Raine Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including M13, Willoughby Capital Holdings, Aneel Bhusri (Workday Co-CEO), Jerry Yang ( founding partner of AME Cloud Ventures, an d Charles Phillips (Managing Partner of Recognize).

- Moxie, a New York-based virtual fitness platform, raised $6.3 million in extended Seed funding. ResoluteVentures led the round and was joined by investors including Bessemer Ventures, Greycroft Ventures, and Gokul Rajaram.

- Ziflow, a London-based maker of a review and approval solution for agencies and brands, raised $6 million. Companyon Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Riverside Acceleration Capital.

- Malomo, an Indianapolis-based shipment tracking platform, raised $5 million in seed funding. Base10 Partners led the round.

- Oxford Endovascular, a U.K.-based spin-out from Oxford University focused on brain aneurysms, raised $10 million in a Series A funding. Investors included Vulpes Investment Management and Additio Investment Group.

- Nth Cycle, a Boston-based recycling technology firm extracting metals from batteries, e-waste, low-grade ore, and mine tailings, raised $3.2 million in funding from Clean Energy Ventures.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- CVC Capital Partners offered to acquire Toshiba Corp., a Japanese group, for $20 billion. Read more.

- KKR invested $500 million in Box, a Redwood City, Calif.-based cloud content management platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Sumeru Equity Partners invested $200 million in Loopio, a Toronto-based proposal response software company.

- Bain Capital Double Impact acquired a majority stake in Hand in Hand, a Philadelphia-based soap and personal care brand. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Branford Castle Partners acquired Lafayette Instrument, a Lafayette, Ind.-based maker of scientific instruments. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Fortis Solutions Group, a portfolio company of Main Post Partners, acquired Total Label a Whitefish, Mt.-based maker of pressure sensitive, extended content and booklet labels. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Imaweb, backed by PSG, acquired Stieger, a provider of dealership software in Switzerland and Austria. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Len The Plumber, backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners, acquired Neffsville, a Lancaster, Penn.-based residential plumbing and HVAC company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Mainsail Partners led a $45 million recapitalization of 3PL Central, an El Segundo, Calif.-based maker of warehouse management systems.

- Wavecrest Growth Partners and Abry Partners invested in Pole Star Space Applications, a London-based compliance software solution to the maritime sector. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Wind Point Partners acquired Zone Mechanical, an Alsip, Ill.-based provider of refrigeration and HVAC mechanical services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- insightsoftware, backed by TA Associates, acquired Logi Analytics, a McLean, Va.-basd provider of embedded analytics solutions for software providers. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

EXITS

- KKR agreed to acquire a majority interest in Therapy Brands, a practice management and electronic health record software platform for mental, behavioral, substance use recovery, from Lightyear Capital LLC, Oak HC/FT, and Greater Sum Ventures. Existing investor PSG will remain a minority shareholder. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Berkshire Partners agreed to acquire Comlinkdata, a Boston-based provider of cloud-based data and insights for the telecommunications industry, from Alpine Investors. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Guesty acquired MyVR, a San Francisco-based property management software platform backed by investors including Hemisphere Ventures and True Ventures. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IPOS

- AppLovin, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based game making startup, plans to raise as much as $2.1 billion in an IPO of 25 million shares priced at $75 to $85 per share. KKR backs the firm. Read more.

- Agilon Health, a Long Beach, Calif.-based maker of a senior-focused primary care physician platform, plans to raise as much as $1.1 billion in an IPO of 46.6 million shares priced between $20 to $23 a share. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice backs the firm. Read more.

- Karat Packaging, a Chino, Calif.-based maker of environmentally-friendly food packaging, plans to raise $75 million in an offering of 4 million shares priced between $18 to $20. Read more.

- TuSimple, a San Diego-based self-driving technology company, plans to raise $1.2 billion in an offering of 33.8 million shares (20% insider sold) priced between $35 to $39. Navistar backs the firm. Read more.

- Onion Global, a China-based e-commerce software maker, filed to raise $100 million. Read more.

SPAC

- LumiraDx, a London-based diagnostic company with Covid-19 tests, plans to go public via merger with CA Healthcare Acquisition, a SPAC. A deal values the combined business at $5 billion.

- Better Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based prescription digital therapeutics company, plans to go public via merger with Mountain Crest Acquisition II, a SPAC, that values the firm at $187 million.

- Sonder, a San Francisco-based short-term rental start, is in talks to go public via merger with Gores Metropoulos II, a SPAC. A deal would value the company at about $2.5 billion, per Bloomberg. Read more.

F+FS

- Peak Rock Capital, an Austin-based private investment firm, closed Peak Rock Capital Fund III with $2 billion.

- Index Ventures, a San Francisco and London-based venture firm, announced a $200 million seed fund dubbed Index Origin.