Over October, GCV Analytics tracked 155 deals backed by corporate venturing investors, worth an estimated total of $3.92bn. The US hosted the majority of those deals (86), although some of the top rounds took place in China. China and India ranked second and third with 14 and 9 deals respectively.
In October, there was a slight drop in the number of deals involving corporate venturing investors (155) compared with the previous month (167). However, the deals figure from October is still considerably above the low deal count registered in the preceding summer months, bearing in mind that September registered the largest number of deals since the beginning of the year.
In terms of total capital raised in rounds, there was a much more significant decrease – from $6.15bn in September to $3.92bn in October. In part, this was because there were no large deals above the $1bn mark in China.
In a historical comparison, there were considerably fewer deals last month than during the same month a year ago – 155 versus 170. The difference in the total capital raised was also notable – $4.95bn in October 2015 versus $3.92bn this year.
The leading corporate investors by number of deals were semiconductor maker Intel, Trinnovate Ventures, internet conglomerate Alphabet and technology research and media group International Data Group . Trinnovate Ventures is the corporate venturing unit of health insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, which was launched in 2015, and revealed some of its commitments recently. Alphabet and General Electric were top investors in terms of involvement in large deals, along with two China-based participants in multimillion-dollar deals – Ffan.com and Shanghai Jin Jiang.
Deals
Companies from the health, IT, consumer and media sectors raised the largest number of deals involving corporate venturing investors. Emerging enterprises in the health and IT sectors led with 32 and 31 funding rounds, respectively. Companies from the media and consumer sector raised about half as many – 17 deals each. On the whole, capital went to a variety of companies from various industries and fields, unlike September when a considerable portion went to enterprises from the transport and autotech sector.
The deal heatmap shows that corporate venturers in the financial services, IT, media and health sectors were the most active investors.
US-based workspace provider WeWork added $260m from investors including hospitality chain Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels on to a round that now totals $690m. WeWork closed the first $430m of funding in March this year, with conglomerate Legend Holdings co-leading the tranche with its private equity arm, Hony Capital. The series F round valued WeWork at $16.9bn.
ETCP – a China-based creator of a smart parking app – secured RMB1.55bn ($230m) in a series B round led by Ffan.com, an e-commerce subsidiary of conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, as reported by China Money Network. Founded in 2012, ETCP has developed an app that uses big data and cloud computing technology to help users find, reserve and pay for parking spaces in advance.
Media company NBCUniversal invested a further $200m in US-based online media platform and portfolio company Buzzfeed, valuing it at $1.7bn. NBCUniversal provided $200m of funding for Buzzfeed in August 2015. Buzzfeed’s millennial-focused media network is best known for its listicles and bite-sized often branded content and has latterly been moving heavily into video.
Payoneer, a US-based cross-border payments platform operator backed by insurance group Ping An, reached the first close of a $180m financing round led by growth equity firm Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). Private equity group Susquehanna Growth Equity also participated in the funding, having initially invested in early 2014. Founded in 2005, Payoneer has built a digital platform that enables users to make quick cross-border payments.
China-based bicycle hire service Ofo raised $130m in a series C round featuring ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing. The round included Citic Private Equity, a subsidiary of investment management firm Citic Capital, and smartphone maker Xiaomi, among others. Founded in 2014, Ofo is an app-focused bike-sharing platform that enables users to book bicycles that are unlocked through a code on the phone.
Telecoms and internet group SoftBank led a $130m series B round for US-based biotechnology developer Zymergen. Founded in 2013, Zymergen uses machine learning and robots to engineer microbes more quickly and efficiently. It works with partners in the agriculture, healthcare, chemicals and materials industry.
Unity Biotechnology, a US-based developer of treatments for diseases related to ageing, closed a $116m series B round backed by medical research companies WuXi PharmaTech and Mayo Clinic, which invested via its venturing unit, Mayo Clinic Ventures. Financial services group Fidelity Management also took part in the round. Unity Biotechnology works on treatments to prevent, stop or reverse ageing-related diseases.
Indonesia-based e-commerce company MatahariMall secured $100m in funding from a group of investors led by conglomerate Mitsui. The money is to be provided in several tranches over the next 12 months. MatahariMall operates an online store selling a range of products.
Media group Discovery Communications agreed to invest $100m in new US-based digital-first media company Group Nine Media as part of a strategic partnership agreement. Group Nine was formed by digital media companies Thrillist Media Group, NowThis Media, The Dodo and Seeker, the digital network owned by Discovery.
China-based online wholesale alcohol retailer Yijiupi.com raised $100m in a series C round backed by local listings and group buying platform Meituan-Dianping. Founded in September 2014, Yijiupi currently operates in 72 Chinese cities but is looking to expand that to 150 by the end of 2017.
Exits
Over September, GCV Analytics tracked 19 exits involving corporate venturing investors. Unsurprisingly, almost all took place in the US. The total exit figure represents only a slight drop compared with the 22 transactions registered in September. However, the total estimated exited capital in October amounted to $3.88bn, considerably more than the $1.12bn the previous month. A considerable number of the exits (8) were initial public offerings, mostly of emerging enterprises in the health sector.
MakeMyTrip agreed to buy fellow India-based online travel services platform Ibibo Group in an all-share deal, thus making Ibibo’s corporate backers, e-commerce firm Naspers and internet group Tencent, shareholders. The combined company will be worth $1.8bn, according to financial services firm Morgan Stanley. Founded in 2000, MakeMyTrip provides holiday packages, accommodation booking, travel insurance, car hire, train and bus tickets.
Enterprise software provider Salesforce agreed to acquire Krux, a US-based data management developer backed by investors including media group Time Warner. The Wall Street Journal reported the price was “about $700m” divided equally between cash and stock. Krux produces cloud-based data management software.
IT services provider Wipro Systems agreed to acquire US-based cloud technology producer Appirio in a $500m deal, giving an exit to Salesforce. Appirio offers consultancy services and diagnostic tools to help businesses deploy cloud computing technology. The company also operates an online crowdsourcing marketplace called Topcoder.
Myovant Sciences, a US-based women’s health spinout of biopharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences, raised about $218m in the biggest biotech IPO of 2016 that included investments by pharmaceutical firms Takeda and Pfizer. Myovant develops products to combat heavy menstrual bleeding caused by various conditions.
US-based cardiac arrhythmia diagnostics technology developer iRhythm Technologies went public in an upsized IPO, valuing it at $107m and providing pharmaceutical firm Novo with an exit. The company priced 6.3 million shares at $17, above the $13 to $15 range it had set earlier. Founded in 2006 as a spinout of Stanford University, iRhythm develops an ambulatory electrocardiogram using a wearable biosensor to monitor people at risk for arrhythmia.
Quantenna Communications, a US-based wifi technology provider backed by home automation company Vivint and telecoms firm NTT, set the range for an IPO that could reach $107m . Founded in 2005 as MySource Communications, Quantenna produces high-speed wifi equipment.
US-based medical device producer Obalon Therapeutics raised $75m when it floated on Nasdaq, giving an exit to medical equipment distributor Bader Sultan & Bros and cosmetics producer AmorePacific. Obalon issued 5 million shares at $15 each. Founded in 2008, Obalon develops medical devices that help people lose weight.
Crispr Therapeutics, a Switzerland-based gene-editing technology developer backed by pharmaceutical companies Bayer, Vertex, Celgene and GlaxoSmithKline, raised $56m when it floated on Nasdaq. Crispr priced 4 million shares at $14, below the $15 to $17 range it had set. Crispr develops a gene-editing technology to disrupt, correct or regulate genes related to various diseases.
Cybersecurity company Proofpoint agreed to acquire US-based cloud security platform FireLayers for $55m, providing an exit to content delivery network operator Akamai Technologies. FireLayers has developed a software platform to monitors usage and actions taken in cloud applications to assess risk and detect threats.
