Coinbase’s wild debut April 15, 2021
In what may well be the hottest IPO of 2021 yet, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase barreled through its last private-market valuation.
You’ll see a lot of numbers bandied about in reports. When it comes to valuations, some are using a fully-diluted figure, which includes shares set aside for stock incentive plans or shares that could become part of the pool via the exercise of options or warrants. The $100 billion plus valuation ($112 billion at the stock’s $430 or so peak Wednesday) that has made its rounds is derived from this calculation. On a shares outstanding basis, which strictly accounts for current shares, Coinbase has yet to actually hit that tag on the public markets.
The other reason for the plethora of numbers out there is less this valuation methodology, and more the wild swings in Coinbase’s stock itself over the course of the day: On a purely shares outstanding basis, the valuation soared as high as $85.5 billion and as low as $61.7 billion, before settling around $65 billion at the end of trading. The startup posted a runaway first quarter but has also fanned concerns over whether it can maintain such a lofty valuation. And I suspect that volatility could be a feature of the stock in coming quarters.
Still, the debut marks a major win for its shareholders even at its lowest trading price Wednesday. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is a billionaire several times over, with his stake worth about $13.2 billion as of this morning. Initialized Capital, an early investor, turned its $300,000 stake into one worth about $2.4 billion. Rapper Nas also profited handsomely. That’s not to mention the returns of major shareholders such as Andreessen Horowitz, with a stake worth about $9.8 billion as of this morning, or Tiger Global, which has a stake valued at around $4.7 billion.
SUPREME: Streetwear brand Supreme has become a runaway success with its exclusive merchandise drops. In November, VF announced plans to acquire the company for $2.1 billion. And the question became, could the brand survive under its new owners? My colleague Phil Wahba dives into why the deal could actually be a good one.
“To get a sense of how VF could steer Supreme, it’s instructive to look at how it has managed Vans—another streetwear upstart that is now a $4-billion-a-year global brand,” he writes. Read more.
Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: lucinda.shen@fortune.com
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VENTURE DEALS
- Cruise, a San Francisco-based self-driving car company, says Walmart and others invested in its previously announced $2 billion round of funding, pushing the total amount in the round to $2.75 billion.
- Astranis, a San Francisco-based space startup, raised a $250 million in Series C funding. BlackRock led the round and was joined by investors including Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, Koch Strategic Platforms, Andreessen Horowitz, and Venrock.
- Zeta, a San Francisco-based banking tech startup, is in talks to raise about $250 million in Series D funding, per TechCrunch. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is in talks to lead the deal.
- Signifyd, a San Jose, Calif.-based digital fraud commerce protection company, raised $205 million in Series E funding. Owl Rock Capital led the round and was joined by investors including FIS, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers.
- UserZoom, a San Jose, Calif.-based platform for user insight, raised $100 million in funding. Owl Rock led the round.
- Medable, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup focused on digital clinical trials, raised $78 million. Sapphire Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Obvious Ventures, GSR Ventures, PPD, and Streamlined Ventures.
- Outschool, a San Francisco-based marketplace for k-12 education, raised $75 million in Series C funding, valuing it at $1.3 billion. Tiger Global Management and Coatue led the round and were joined by investors including Lightspeed Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Reach Capital.
- Lingoda, a Berlin-based online language school, raised $67 million (€57 million). Summit Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Conny Boersch (founder of Mountain Partners).
- Atlast Food Co. a Green Island, N.Y.-based company making plant-based meats, raised $40 million in Series A funding. Viking Global Investors led the round and was joined by investors including 40 North, AiiM Partners, Senator Investment Group, Stray Dog Capital, and Footprint Coalition Ventures.
- dcbel, a Montreal-based producer of smart home energy appliances, raised $40 million. Investors include Coatue, Real Ventures, WTI, and Narrative Fund.
- Connected Cannabis Co., a California-based cannabis company, raised $30 million. Navy Capital and One Tower Group led the round and were joined by investors including Emerald Park Capital and Presidio View Capital.
- Routable, a San Francisco-based way to send business-to-business payments, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, and Jack Altman, CEO of Lattice, led the round. They were joined by investors including Flexport.
- Tomorrow Health, a New York-based platform for home healthcare, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by investors including Obvious Ventures and BoxGroup.
- sunday, an Atlanta-based app for paying in restaurants, raised $24 million in seed funding. Coatue and New Wave led the round.
- Beep Saúde, a Brazilian startup offering home healthcare services, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Valor Capital Group led the round and was joined by investors including DNA Capital, Bradesco and Endeavor Catalyst.
- Virtualitics, a Pasadena, Calif.-based data analytics software company, raised $18 million in Series B funding. North Sound Ventures led the round.
- Mori, a Boston-based food technology company focused on reducing waste, raised $16 million in Series B funding. Drawdown Fund led the round and was joined by investors including Acre Venture Partners, The Engine, Prelude Ventures, Refactor Capital, Closed Loop Partners, and Knollwood Investment Advisory.
- Plex, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming media platform for free movies, TV, and entertainment, raised $15 million from existing investor Intercap. Intercap also acquired $30 million in existing shares.
- Wire, a Berlin-based collaboration platform, raised $21 million in Series B funding. UVC Partners led the round.
- Co-Star Astrology, a New York-based social network using astrology, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Spark Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Maveron and Female Founders Fund.
- Atrium, a San Francisco-based sales management platform, raised $13.5 million in seed funding. Investors included Bonfire Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Charles River Ventures, and First Round Capital.
- Doorstead, a San Francisco-based property management tech company, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. Madrona Venture Group led the round.
- Encamp, an Indianapolis-based software platform for environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance data management and reporting automation, raised $12 million in Series B funding. OpenView led the round and was joined by investors including High Alpha Capital, Allos Ventures, and IU Ventures.
- Amira Learning, a Seattle-based learning startup, raised $11 million. Authentic Ventures II led the round and was joined by investors including Vertical Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Rethink Education.
- Cado Security, a London-based maker of a digital forensics platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Blossom Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Ten Eleven Ventures.
- PlexTrac, a Boise, Id.-based cybersecurity workflow platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Madrona Venture Group and Noro-Mosely led the round and were joined by investors including StageDot0.
- Persefoni, a Tempe, Ariz.-based carbon accounting and management platform, raised $9.7 million in Series A funding. Rice Investment Group led the round and was joined by investors including NGP ETP and Sallyport Investments.
- Pico, a New York-based startup for online creators to manage customer data, raised $6.5 million. Ann Lai at Bullpen Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Precursor Ventures, Stripe, BloombergBeta, and Village Global.
- Carbo Culture, a US-Finnish carbon removal startup, raised $6.2 million in seed funding. True Ventures and Cherry Ventures led the round.
- Pickle, a Cambridge, Mass.-based robotics startup, raised $5.6 million in funding. Hyperplane led the round and was joined by investors including Third Kind Venture Capital, Box Group, and Version One Ventures.
- Getlabs, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based lab appointment startup, raised $3 million in seed funding. PivotNorth Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Tusk Venture Partners, Rosecliff Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, CityLight Capital, and Karlin Asset Management.
- inSTREAMLY, a Warsaw-based maker of a live streaming sponsorships platform, raised €1.1 million ($1.3 million) in seed funding. Supernode Global led the round.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Insight Partners invested $125 million Keyfactor, a Cleveland, Oh.-based key and certificate solution. Keyfactor also acquired PrimeKey, Stockholm-based network security company.
- Insight Partner invested $80 million in TetraScience, a Boston-based R&D data cloud company.
- Accelapha, backed by Century Park Capital Partners, acquired Key Performance Ideas, a Henderson, N.V.-based IT consulting firm. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Battery Ventures agreed to acquire imc Test & Measurement, a Berlin-based provider of productive test and measurement hardware and software solutions. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Francisco Partners will acquire VitalSource Technologies, a Raleigh, N.C.-based education technology solutions provider, from Ingram Content Group. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Silver Lake invested in G42, an Abu Dhabi-based A.I. and cloud computing company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
EXITS
- Noritsu Koki agreed to acquire JLab, a San Diego-based audio and headphone company, from investors including Petra Capital, Eagle Holdings, and Catalyst Holdings. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- L Catterton will acquire West Marine, a Wastonville, Calif.-based marine equipment company, from Monomoy Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- TrillerNet, Triller’s parent company, acquired FITE, a live-event a streaming platform for sports and entertainment, and Amplify.ai, a customer engagement company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- OTP is in talks to acquire Slovenian bank Nova KBM, a Slovenian bank, for about 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) from Apollo, per Reuters.
OTHERS
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is nearing a deal to acquire PPD, a contract research firm, for more than $15 billion, per the Wall Street Journal. Read more.
IPOS
- Bamboo Airways, a Vietnamese airliner, plans to raise up to $200 million in a U.S. IPO.
- Squarespace, a New York-based website hosting company, is in talks to go public via direct listing, per Bloomberg.
- AppLovin, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based game making startup, raised $2 billion in an IPO priced at $80 per share. KKR backs the firm. Read more.
SPACS
- Tango Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech discovering precision cancer medicines, plans to acquire BCTG Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: BCTG), a SPAC sponsored by Boxer Capital.
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