Altimeter nabs Grab

Here it is.

Singapore-based ride-hailing startup Grab officially announced plans to go public via merger with Altimeter Growth, a special purpose acquisition company backed by Altimeter Capital Management

Highly anticipated following a report from the Wall Street Journal, the merger with the SPAC will value Grab at about $39.6 billion on a pro-forma basis—the largest merger with a blank check company to date. Grab is also raising over $4 billion as part of the merger from a roster of the usual mega-SPAC and -IPO investors including BlackRock, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price.

On the surface, Grab is a ride-hailing company. But under the hood, the company has made itself Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup with quite literally so much more. The company is one of the so-called superapps offering grocery delivery, mortgages, and digital healthcare, creating a one-stop shop that has attracted investors including SoftBank, Uber, GGV, and Alibaba. 

In a press release, Grab CEO Anthony Tan attributed the company’s ability to weather the coronavirus pandemic to its superapp status: “Our diversified superapp strategy helped our driver partners pivot to deliveries, and enabled us to deliver growth while improving profitability,” he said.

Adjusted revenue grew 60% in 2020 to $1.6 billion, a slowdown from the year prior when the company’s revenue more than doubled. The company has also yet to post a profit, with EBITDA clocking in at a negative $800 million compared to loss of $2.3 billion the year before.

For Grab, the merger with Altimeter Growth marks a conclusion to a high-profile dealmaking dance. The Southeast Asian company had been in on-and-off talks with competitor Gojek for roughly a year over a potential merger before those discussions collapsed as Gojek sought to combine with e-commerce company Tokopedia instead. Grab also considered an IPO.

Altimeter, though, is making clear that it’s no short-term investor in the stock. It committed to a three-year lockup period on its sponsor promote shares as a part of the deal.

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

VENTURE DEALS

- SambaNova Systems, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based A.I. Systems startup, raised $676 million in Series D funding. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by investors including Temasek and GIC.

- Tempo, a San Francisco-based fitness system, raised $220 million in Series C funding. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by investors including STEADFAST Capital Ventures,

DCM, General Catalyst, Norwest Venture Partners, and Bling Capital. 

- Clearcover, a Chicago-based car insurance startup, raised $200 million in Series D funding. Eldridge led the round and was joined by investors including American Family Ventures, Cox Enterprises, and OMERS Ventures.

- Repertoire Immune Medicines, a Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech company focused on cancer, immune disorders, and infectious disease, raised $189 million in Series B funding. Investors included Flagship Pioneering, Softbank Vision Fund 2i, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), the Alaska Permanent Fund, and Invus.

- Tend, a New York-based dentistry startup, raised $125 million in Series C funding. Addition led the round and was joined by investors including GV, Juxtapose, Redpoint, and Zigg Capital.

- CeQur, a Malborough, Mass.-based maker of insulin delivery devices, raised $115 million. Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital and Endeavour Vision led the round. 

- Theseus Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based oncology biotech, raised $100 million in Series B funding. Foresite Capital led the round.

- Memic, an Israel-based maker of a robotics-assisted surgery platform, raised $96 million in Series D funding. Peregrine Ventures and Ceros led the round and was joined by investors including OurCrowd and Accelmed. 

- VEGAMOUR, a hair wellness brand, raised $80 million in funding from General Atlantic.

- Hazel Technologies, a Chicago-based agricultural technology company focused on food waste, raised $70 million in Series C funding. Pontifax Global Food, Agriculture Technology Fund, and Temasek led the round.

- Veriff, a New York and Estonia-based global identity verification startup, raised $69 million in Series B funding. IVP and Accel led the round.

- ConsenSys, a New York-based blockchain company, raised $65 million. Investors included J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, and UBS.

- Papa, a Miami-based care platform for older adults and families, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Tiger Global Management led the round.

- Talon Cyber Security, a Tel Aviv-based cyber security company, raised $26 million in seed funding. Investors included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Team8, and Zohar Zisapel.

- Territory Foods, an Arlington, Va.-based maker of a meal delivery service with personalized dietary preferences, raised $22 million. U.S. Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Upfront Ventures, Lewis & Clark Ventures, and DF Enterprises.

– Orbital Sidekick, a San Francisco-based deployer of hyperspectral sensors in space, raised $16 Million in Series A funding. Temasek led the round and was joined by investors including Energy Innovation Capital, Allied Minds, 11.2 Capital, and Syndicate 708. 

- Hack The Box, a testing platform for hacking skills, raised $10.6 million in Series A funding. Paladin Capital Group led the round and was joined by investors including Osage University Partners, Brighteye Ventures, and Marathon Venture Capital.

- Clim8 Invest, a London-based crowdfunding platform, raised $8 million from 7pc Ventures and British Business Bank Future Fund.

- EcoCart, a San Francisco-based climate and sustainability-focused e-commerce enablement startup, raised $3 million in seed funding. Base10 Partners' Chris Zeoli led the round and was joined by investors including Sugar Capital, Jamie Sutton (creator of Shopify Plus), Ben Jabbaway (Founder of Privy).

PRIVATE EQUITY

- An EIG-led consortium has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines, a newly formed entity with rights to 25-years of tariff payments for oil transported through Saudi Aramco’s stabilized crude oil pipeline network, for $12.4 billion.

- The Carlyle Group acquired a majority stake in Beautycounter, a seller of skincare and makeup, valuing the company at $1 billion.

- Charter Health Care Group, backed by Pharos Capital Group, acquired The Providence Hospice and The Providence Home Health Services, Houston, Texas-based in-home health care provider. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Jaguar Growth Partners has acquired RB SEC, a Brazilian real estate securitization platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- TZP Group acquired a majority stake in Kindred Bravely, an Oceanside, Calif.-based maker of maternal wear. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Prime Pensions, backed by Mill Point Capital, acquired the assets of Squire Retirement Plan Services, a New Jersey-based provider of retirement plans and services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Rocket Software, backed by Bain Capital, agreed to acquire ASG Technologies, a Naples, Fla.-based provider of IT software. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Sier Capital Partners invested in Strongsville, Ohio-based LLK, a  Strongsville, Oh.-based provider of design, build and maintenance services for commercial greenhouses. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHERS

- Veolia and Suez, two French waste and water treatment companies, will merge in a deal worth about 13 billion euros ($15.4 billion).

- Ameriprise Financial will acquire the Bank of Montreal's EMEA asset management business for C$1.1 billion ($870 million). 

- Avantor agreed to acquire German peer Ritter, a German laboratory products maker, for 890 million euros ($1.1 billion) in cash.

IPOS

- Kakao Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment and digital comic company overseen by Kakao, is weighing a New York IPO next year that could value it at over 20 trillion won ($17.8 billion), per Bloomberg.

- Vingroup JSC, a Vietnamese conglomerate, is weighing a U.S. IPO of its carmaking unit, VinFast, in a deal that could raise about $3 billion, per Bloomberg.

- Autodoc, a German car-parts dealer, is planning an IPO that could seek a valuation of over €10 billion ($11.9 billion), per Bloomberg.

- Darktrace, a U.K.-based cybersecurity company, announced plans for a London IPO. It is seeking a valuation of between $3 billion to $4 billion, per Bloomberg.

- KnowBe4, a Clearwater, Fla.-based cybersecurity training provider, plans to offer $201 million worth of shares. It plans to offer 11.8 million shares (24% insider sold) priced between $16 to $18. Goldman Sachs and KKR back the firm. Read more.

- UiPath, a New York-based process automation company, now plans to sell $990 million worth of shares. It plans to offer 21.3 million shares (68% insider sold) priced between $43 to $50. Accel Partners and Earlybird Management back the firm. Read more.

- DoubleVerify, a New York-based maker of software to track digital media engagement,  plans to raise $340 million through an offering of 13.3 million shares (35% insider sold) valued between $24 to $27. Providence Equity Partners and Tiger Global Management led the round. Read more.

- Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a Salt Lake City-based drug discovery biotech, plans to raise $306 million at the midpoint of an IPO offering 18 million shares priced between $16 to $18. Lux Ventures, DCVC, and MDC Capital Partners back the firm.

- The Bountiful Company, a Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based maker of vitamins and wellness products, filed to raise $100 million.

- Akoya Biosciences, a Malborough, Mass.-based developer of solutions for drug discovery and clinical research, now plans to raise $125 million in an offering of 6.6 million shares priced between $18 to $20 apiece. Telegraph Hill Partners and Piper Sandler back the firm. Read more.

- Biomea Fusion, a Redwood City, Calif.-based biotech developing therapies for cancers, now plans to raise $120 million in an offering of 7.5 million shares priced between $15 to $17. 

- SkyWater Technology, a Bloomington, Minn.-based semiconductor company, now plans to raise $75 million in an offering of 5.8 million shares priced between $12 to $14. Oxbow Industries backs the firm.

PEOPLE

- Crosspoint Capital Partners, a private equity firm investing in sectors including cybersecurity and infrastructure, closed Crosspoint Capital Fund I with $1.3 billion .

- Temasek and BlackRock formed Decarbonization Partners, a partnership that will invest in decarbonization solutions. The duo are committing $600 million in initial capital, while the partnership is targeting $1 billion including the commitment.

- Maverick Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, closed its third fund cycle with over $600 million.

- TDK Ventures, the corporate venture arm for TDK Corp., closed its second fund with $150 million.

F+FS

- Icon Ventures, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture firm, named Peter Yi from principal to partner.