Thursday Throw-Back
The sky is gray, the stores are closing early and this is your final Term Sheet of 2015.
Earlier this week I asked you for predictions about what would happen over the next year. You replied by the dozens, and below are just a few select offerings, with an emphasis on brevity. I've posted all of them here (save for the 'Candidate X will be elected president' ones, since there seemed to be at least one for every major candidate):
Justin: "2016 will be a year of reckoning for many private, VC-backed companies, as the desire for liquidity sparks many IPOs priced well below most recent financing rounds, but this will not lead to a catastrophic recession."
Kevin: "One or two Chinese banks will also be compelled to merge with other banks too due to non-performing loans."
Charles: "Apple buys Ford."
Robert: “Space X will announce its trip to Mars"
Tom: "As Clubber Lang said in Rocky III: Pain."
Matt: "Dick Costolo is at the center of a major comedy media deal."
Mark: "Unicorn paper returns deflate faster than any ball ever thrown by Tom Brady." (figured I needed to include at least one of these -- there were a bunch of predictions from readers who apparently root for sad, bumbling and unsuccessful football teams).
Derek: "The S&P will hit 1,800 near the middle of 2016 as the US slips into a recession due student loan issues, distorted “headline” unemployment rate, continued declines in China, and austerity imposed on the troubled Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece & Spain. Let’s be honest, how are the 'ghost cities' in China not a red flag?"
Jonathan: "Fields of unicorns are turned into a Walking Dead scene after international and strategic capital dries up and no respectable late-stage VC is willing to dive into the empty pool that is a $500M Series Q round.
Gil: "Anything that makes American's fatter will increase in revenues and value. Anything that helps American's feel fitter will increase in revenues and value."
Gilbert: "There will be hideous acts of violence but the world will rally to support decent people with a simple message of love and kindness."
Again, you can view all of the predictions by going here.
Have a great holiday weekend. Talk with you again on Jan. 4, when I'll be in Las Vegas for CES. Or, if you can't wait, hit me up on Twitter @danprimack. Go Pats!
THE BIG DEAL
• Salesforce.com (Nasdaq: CRM) has agreed to acquire SteelBrick, a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of quote-to-cash apps built on the Salesforce platform, for around $360 million in stock.
SteelBrick had raised around $75 million in total VC funding , including a recent Series C round at a $260 million post-money valuation. Investors included Salesforce Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Emergence Capital and Shasta Ventures. www.steelbrick.com
VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS
• Palantir Technologies,a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of big data fusion platforms for public and private-sector clients, has increased its Series K round of funding by $200 million, according to a regulatory filing. This brings the round total to $880 million, at a pre-money valuation of around $19.6 billion. www.palantir.com
• Innovid, a New York-based provider of interactive video advertising solutions, has raised $15 million in new VC funding. NewSpring Capital was joined by return backers Sequoia Capital Israel, Genesis Partners, Cisco Ventures and T-Venture. The company also secured $12.5 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank and Triple Point Capital. Read more.
• Semantic Machines, a Newton, Mass.-based developer of conversation AI technology, has raised $12.38 million in new VC funding, according to a regulatory filing. Investors include Bain Capital Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. Read more.
• Altruista Health Inc., a Reston, Va.-based provider of population health management technology solutions for health plans and healthcare providers, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Capricorn Healthcare & Special Opportunities. www.altruistahealth.com
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
• ArcLight Capital Partners has formed a new portfolio company, Eastern Generation LLC, to acquire a natural gas and dual-fuel fired portfolio consisting of seven U.S. power generation plants totaling 4.8 GW. The seller was Tenaska Capital Management. No financial terms were disclosed. www.arclightcapital.com
• Baring Private Equity Asia has offered to acquire Interplex Holdings, a Singapore-listed engineering firm majority-owned by CVC Capital Partners and Standard Chartered Private Equity, for around US$320 million. Read more.
• Harbour Group has acquired SP Industries Inc., a Warminster, Penn.-based maker of scientific equipment and biological drug manufacturing solutions, from Graham Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Lincoln International managed the process. www.spindustries.com
• Main Capital has acquired B+M Informatik AG, a German provider of software for banks and insurance companies, from publicly-traded Allgeier SE. No financial terms were disclosed. www.bmiag.de
• Precision for Medicine Inc., a Chevy Chase, Md.-based provider of services for drug development and commercialization, has secured $75 million in growth equity funding from TPG Growth.
www.precisionformedicine.com
• ProAct Services Corp., a Ludington, Mich.-based portfolio company of Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co., has acquired Carbonair, a Roseville, Minn.-based provider of water treatment equipment. No financial terms were disclosed. www.carbonair.com
• Providence Equity Partners has agreed to acquire Biteì Finance International BV, a mobile operator in Baltic countries, from Mid Europa Partners for an undisclosed amount. www.provequity.com
• StoneCalibre has acquired the Secure Document Exchange business unit of France’s Sagemcom Documents SAS for an undisclosed amount. The deal includes Sagemcom Canada, which will change its name to XMedius Solutions. www.stonecalibre.com
• Varsity Brands, a Memphis, Tenn.-based portfolio of student participation brands, has acquired AllGoods LLC, a Grand Prairie, Texas-based apparel-oriented fundraising company. No financial terms were disclosed. Varsity Brands is a portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners. www.varsity.com
IPOs
• Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of therapeutics to treat diseases caused by defects in protein processing, has filed for an $86.25 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol PTI, with Leerink Partners and RBC Capital Markets serving as lead underwriters. The pre-revenue company has raised over $50 million in VC funding, from firms like Elan Science One (21.6% pre-IPO stake), New Enterprise Associates (17.1%), Healthcare Ventures (13.9%), Fidelity Biosciences (11.7%), Novartis Bioventures (11.6%), Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures (5.8%) and Cormorant Asset Management. www.proteostasis.com
EXITS
• ICV Partners has sold Stauber Performance Ingredients, a Fullerton, Calif.-based distributor of nutraceutical ingredients, to Hawkins Inc. (Nasdaq: HWKN) for $157 million. www.stauberusa.com
• RNTS Media (DB: RNM) has acquired Heyzap, a San Francisco-based provider of mobile advertising solutions for app developers, for upwards of $25 million (including $20m in upfront payments). Heyzap had raised around $8 million in VC funding -- including a Series B1 round in early 2013 at a $27 million post-money valuation -- from firms like Union Square Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures. www.heyzap.com
OTHER DEALS
• Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NCS) formally rejected a sweetened takeover bid from Canadian Pacific (TSX: CP). The offer would have valued Norfolk Southern at around $30 billion, plus included “contingent value rights” to Norfolk shareholders. Read more.
FIRMS & FUNDS
• No firm or fund news this morning.
Moving In, On & Up
• Yutaka Nishimura, former president and regional CEO of Richemont Japan Ltd., has joined The Carlyle Group as an operating executive in the firm’s Japan buyout group. www.carlyle.com
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