Corporate venturing units maintained a brisk deal-making pace in the summer with another busy month in June, although activity was down against the bumper spell of deal‐making in May.
In June there were 139 investments in corporate venturing‐backed companies worth $3.9bn, compared with 177 investments worth $4.2bn in May. Typically in previous years Global Corporate Venturing has tracked about 100 deals – so June was also a solid month for investments.
There were 10 exits or initial public offerings (IPOs) worth $3.3bn, compared with 19 exits worth $4.6bn in April.
Deals in the US made up 60.4% of transactions, the second consecutive month with weaker relative US activity than the typical two‐thirds or higher share of deals. China had a strong month, with 14 deals. Other areas of note were the UK (8), Japan (7), India (6), Germany (5), Singa–pore (3) and Netherlands (2).
There were 26 B rounds, 25 A rounds, 15 C rounds, 10 C rounds, nine D rounds, 4 E rounds, and five individual stake purchases.
The largest investment was China-based internet company Tencent paying $736m for a 19.9% stake in 58.com, a China-based online marketplace for sellers and customers that provides a similar service to western sites such as Craigslist or Gumtree. 58.com went public in in the US through a $187m IPO in October 2013.
The second-biggest deal was US-based online home design platform Houzz raising a $150m round featuring existing investor Comcast Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the media communications company.
The third-biggest deal was China-based online media company Toutiao reportedly raising $100m in a series C round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital that also featured Sina Weibo.
The fourth-biggest deal was Couchbase, the US-based developer of a NoSQL database, raising a $60m series E round, with participation from Docomo Capital, the corporate venturing unit for Japan‐based telecoms company NTT Docomo.
The fifth‐biggest deal was Aduro Biotech, a US‐based biotechnology company devising treatments for pancreatic cancer, closing a $55m series C round, backed by Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), the corporate venturing arm of the pharmaceutical company.
The largest exit was the IPO of UK‐based data provider Markit, backed by banks such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, which raised $1.5bn.
The second-largest exit was US-based satellite imaging company Skybox Imaging securing a $500m sale to internet company Google, granting an exit to Wells Fargo‐backed venture firm Norwest Venture Partners.
The third‐largest exit was Elex Technology, backed by internet company Tencent, which was bought by publishing firm Chinese Universe Publishing and Media for RMB2.7bn ($433m).
The IPO of GoPro, a US‐based producer of portable high‐definition camera equipment, raised $427m, floating at the top of its range.
IT
There were 68 deals in July in the IT sector. These included the sale of satellite imaging company Skybox Imaging to internet company Google for $500m, granting an exit to Norwest Venture Partners. Other exits in the sector included the IPO of MobileIron, a US-based developer of mobile device management software also backed by Norwest, which raised $100m on Nasdaq.
The largest investment was Couchbase, a US-based developer of a NoSQL database, raising a $60m series E round, backed by Docomo Capital, the corporate venturing unit of telecoms company NTT Docomo.
Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a corporate venturing subsidiary of media company Bertelsmann, and Legend Capital, the corporate venturing unit of China‐based Legend Holdings, co‐led a $50m series B round for China‐based cloud infrastructure software provider UCloud.
US-based enterprise mobility company Kony secured $50m in series E financing in a round led by new investor Softbank Capital, the corporate venturing arm of the Japan‐based telecoms company. Existing backers, including Telstra Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the Australia‐based telecoms company, joined Softbank in the deal.
US-based cloud security company Skyhigh Networks raised $40m in series C financing on Monday in a round featuring cloud computing business Salesforce.com.
Cisco and Google Ventures led a $40m follow‐up series E round of funding in US‐based IT automation software developer Puppet Labs. Cloud software company VMWare also participated.
Health
The next most active sector with 25 deals was healthcare. The largest deal was Aduro Biotech, a US‐based biotechnology company devising treatments for pancreatic cancer, closing a $55m series C round, with JJDC participating as a new investor.
The next biggest deal in the sector was Cardio3 BioSciences, a Belgium‐based developer of treatments for heart disease, which raised €25m ($33.9m) from China‐based biopharmaceutical company Medisun International through a capital increase.
US-based digital drug developer Chrono Therapeutics closed a $32m series A round featuring medical practice Mayo Clinic and GE Ventures, General Electric’s corporate venturing subsidiary.
Dayima, a China-based, female-oriented social network that also acts as a period tracker, raised $30m in a series C round from investors including Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a subsidiary of media corporation Bertelsmann.
US-based medical device manufacturer PowerVision, backed by JJDC and medical device producer Medtronic, closed its $30m series D round.
Services
The third most active sector was services with 15 deals. The largest deal was China‐based holiday rental room service Tujia.com reportedly securing $100m in series C funding. Investors in the latest round were undisclosed but it raised $64m in series A and B rounds up to February 2013 from backers including China-based travel agency Ctrip and US-based travel service Homeaway.
Germany‐based recipe kit delivery service HelloFresh secured $50m in its series D round from venture capital firms Insight Venture Partners and Phenomen Ventures. An alumnus of internet incubator Rocket Internet, HelloFresh raised $17.5m across its series B and C rounds in December 2012 and September 2013 from Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of household goods and cosmetics retailer Vorwerk, as well as Holtzbrinck Ventures and Kinnevik.
Meet You, a China‐based female community app that can also track a woman’s menstrual cycle, has secured $35m in a series C round led by technology and trading firm Susquehanna Investment Group.
Media
China-based online media company Toutiao raised $100m in a series C round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital that also featured Sina Weibo.
Fingerprint, a US-based mobile technology company that powers games and curates edutainment for children, raised $10.9m in a series B round led by film studio Dreamworks Animation.
Dreamworks was joined by existing investors including media company Corus Entertainment and Reed Elsevier Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the publisher.
Consumer
Canada-based smart clothing technology developer OMsignal raised $10m in a series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, the venture capital firm that grew out of steel magnate Henry Phipp’s holding company, which also featured supply chain technology producer Flextronics.
UK‐based Business Growth Fund, the government and bank-backed fund initiated to help grow UK business, has reinvested in two portfolio companies, Barburrito and Xercise4Less, totalling £5.6m ($9.4m).
Industrial
Netherlands‐based green chemicals producer Avantium has secured €36m from a consortium including diversified conglomerate Swire Pacific, beverage maker Coca‐Cola, food and beverage manufacturer Danone and plastics producer Alpla.
US-based conductor technology maker Cambrios Technologies secured $10m in a series B round led by Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, electronics company Samsung’s corporate venturing unit.
Utilities
UK bank‐backed venture fund Business Growth Fund has invested £3m in UK‐based drainage contractor Flowline in return for a minority stake. Founded in 1991, Flowline provides a range of waste management and drainage services and used the investment to acquire competitor Clearaway Drainage Services, which will provide it with expertise in the rail and industrial sectors.
Sunverge Energy, a US‐based manufacturer of distributed energy management systems, closed a $15m series B round featuring industrial and electronics manufacturer Siemens’ venture capital unit and Total Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of petroleum producer Total.