• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
FinanceTerm Sheet

Term Sheet — Tuesday, March 22

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 22, 2016, 10:09 AM ET

Random Ramblings

Greetings from the home office. Some notes to kick off your Tuesday:

• New firm alert: David Lee, the seed-stage venture capitalist who last year resigned from the firm he had co-founded with Ron Conway, is back with a new firm called Refactor Capital.

The nascent effort was disclosed in an SEC filing, which shows that Lee will partner with Zal Bilimoria (most recently a partner with Andreessen Horowitz) and Rick Barber (ex-chief of staff at Nuna Health). The trio is seeking upwards of $50 million for their debut fund.

Lee had co-founded SV Angel with Conway back in 2007 and effectively led investment efforts beginning in 2010. But he suddenly resigned last May without much explanation.

A source familiar with Refactor says that the plan is to focus on seed-stage software startups on the West Coast, including (but not limited to) healthcare IT. The SEC document lists a Burlingame, CA headquarters, but Lee (who declined comment) is expected to remain based in Los Angeles.

• No hurdle, no problem: Advent International this morning announced that it has closed its eighth flagship private equity fund with $13 billion in capital commitments. That's $1 billion above target, which means that LPs apparently weren't turned off by the Boston-based firm's decision to drop its preferred return (a.k.a. hurdle rate).

• Boom to bust: Jumio, an online credentials authentication startup that had raised around $30 million in VC funding, yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It also said that its assets would be sold to Facebook co-founder (and existing Jumio investor) Eduardo Saverin (who also will provide $3.7m in DIP financing).

No specifics yet on what happened from the company, except that it was unable to secure new funding  due to “certain legacy issues combined with related government investigations and proceedings." Its most recent outside funding round came in early 2014 at around a $189 million post-money valuation (per Pitchbook), co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Citi Ventures.

• And now for something completely different: I've spent a decent part of the past week working on a piece unrelated to Term Sheet: Social media ties between Donald Trump, some senior members of his campaign and avowed white supremacists. In short, it's more than just a few random retweets. You can read the story I wrote with Ben Kharakh by going here.

THE BIG DEAL

• BigBasket, an India-based online grocery, has raised $150 million in new funding. The Abraaj Group led the round, and was joined by return backers Bessemer Venture Partners, Helion Advisors, Zodius Capital and Ascent Capital. www.bigbasket.com

VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS

• Acutus Medical, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based provider of electrophysiology solutions, has raised $75 million in Series C funding. Deerfield Management and Xeraya Capital were joined by return backers GE Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors and Advent Life Sciences. www.acutusmedical.com

• BYJU, an educational online platform and app for sixth-twelfth graders in India, has raised $75 million in new VC funding from Sequoia Capital India and Sofina. Read more.

• Aerin Medical Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based medical device company focused on nasal breathing disorders, has raised $16.7 million in Series C funding from backers like Targeted Technology Fund and KCK Group. www.aerinmedical.com

• Sight Machine Inc., a San Francisco-based online data platform for manufacturers, has raised $13.5 million in Series B funding. Jump Capital led the round, and was joined by GE Ventures, Two Roads Group and Pritzker Group Venture Capital. Existing backers include Mercury Fund, Michigan eLab, Huron River Ventures, Orfin Ventures, Funders Club, IA Ventures and OATV. www.sightmachine.com

• Syntimmune Inc., a New York-based developer of treatments for IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases, has secured a clinical milestone-based $10 million tranche of its $26 million Series A round co-led by Apple Tree Partners and Baxalta Ventures. www.syntimmune.com

• Adarza BioSystems Inc., a Rochester, N.Y.-based developer of label-free multiplex assays, has raised $5 million in Series B funding. Backers include Cultivation Capital, Lewis and Clark Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital. www.adarzabio.com

• Medical Departures, a Thailand-based medical services marketplace for those seeking cross-border treatments and procedures, has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding. DMP led the round, and was joined by Hubert Burda Media, CyberAgent Ventures and OPT SEA. www.medicaldepartures.com

• GreatHorn, a Belmont, Mass.-based provider of cloud communication security solutions, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding. ff Venture Capital and SoftTech VC co-led the round, and were joined by Techstars Ventures, RRE Ventures, Walter Winshall and return backers Zelkova Ventures and V1.VC. www.greathorn.com

• ClubReady, a St. Louis-based provider of business management software for the fitness and wellness market, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Level Equity. www.clubready.com

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• Benefitexpress, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based cloud platform for employee benefits, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from LLR Partners. www.benefitexpress.info

• CI Capital Partners has acquired Hero Digital, a San Francisco-based digital consulting firm. No financial terms were disclosed. www.herodigital.com

• Denu Partners, an Ireland-based investment firm, has acquired Boston-based steakhouse chain The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group from Bunker Hill Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. www.smithandwollensky.com

• Edgewater Markets, a New York-based provider of electronic foreign exchange aggregation and distribution to institutional clients, has raised $30 million in minority equity funding led by FTV Capital. www.edgewatermarkets.com

• Open Lending LLC, an Austin, Texas-based provider of loan analytics, risk modeling and automated decision technology for automotive lenders, has raised $40 million in private equity funding from Bregal Sagemount. www.openlending.com

• Response Team 1, a Wheeling, Ill.-based provider of property restoration and renovation services, has secured an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Nautic Partners. The deal also included leveraged financing from Antares Capital and LStar Capital.  www.responseteam1.com

• Stellex Capital Management has acquired Morbark LLC, a Winn, Mich.-based maker of wood chippers and deforestation equipment. No financial terms were disclosed. www.morbark.com

IPOs

• The Bank of Tianjin raised $949 million in a Hong Kong IPO, after pricing shares at HK$7.39 each (near low end of HK$7.37-HK$9.58 range). The Chinese commercial lender’s offering is the largest Hong Kong IPO so far in 2016. Read more.

EXITS

• Bio-Techne Corp. (Nasdaq: TECH) has acquired Zephyrus Biosciences, a Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of research tools to enable protein analysis at the single cell level. No financial terms were disclosed. Zephyrus had been seeded by such firms as Life Sciences Angels, Mission Bay Capital, The Angel Forum, BayBio Fast, 5 Prime Ventures and the Stanford StartX Fund. www.zephyrusbio.com

• CRT Capital Group, a portfolio company of Aquiline Capital Partners, has agreed to sell its credit products, credit research, special-situations and emerging-markets units to Cowen Group (Nasdaq: COWN). Read more.

• HGGC has agreed to sell Serena Software, a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of enterprise IT management solutions, to Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO) for $540 million in cash. HGGC had purchased Serena Software in early 2014 from Silver Lake for approximately $450 million. www.serena.com

OTHER DEALS

• Influitive, a Toronto-based advocate marketing startup, has acquired Triggerfox, a Toronto-based mobile relationship management application. No financial terms were disclosed. Influitive recently closed a $38.7 million Series B round from Leaders Fund, Export Development Canada, Georgian Partners, Relay Ventures, BDC Capital IT Venture Fund and OurCrowd, www.influitive.com

• Marriott International (Nasdaq: MAR) isn’t going down without a fight, in its effort to acquire Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT). The Bethesda, Md.-based hotel operator has raised its cash and stock bid to $79.53 per share, or $13.6 billion. Its previous offer valued Starwood at $13.2 billion, and was effectively matched by a consortium that includes Anbang Insurance Group, J.C. Flowers and Primavera Capital. As part of its new bid. Marriott also increased its breakup fee from $400 million to $450 million, although that’s unlikely to deter a counter from Anbang. Read more.

• Sparkle Roll Group (HK: 970) said that it is in talks to acquire Bang & Olufsen, a listed Danish maker of high-end speaker systems. News of the possible deal caused B&O shares to jump, giving it a market cap of approximately $460 million. Read more.

FIRMS & FUNDS

• Sverica Capital Management, a lower middle-market private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, has closed its fourth fund with $275 million in capital commitments. www.sverica.com

• Teralys Capital (Montreal) has closed its latest VC fund-of-funds with C$375 million in capital commitments. Limited partners include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, BDC Capital, Fondaction CSN, Fiera Capital, Lune Rouge, Bpifrance, National Bank of Canada, La Capitale, Desjardins Group, Knight Therapeutics, OpenText Corp. and Consensus Business Group. www.teralyscapital.com

MOVING IN, ON & UP

• Rick Braun has joined GenNx360 Capital Partners as an operating partner. He previously was Scotland-based managing director of Weir Services Europe and, before that, served in various executive positions with Rolls Royce. www.gennx360.com

• Noah Lichtenstein has transitioned from a partner to venture partner role with Cowboy Ventures. Before joining the Silicon Valley VC firm in 2013, he helped found Homerun (acquired by Rearden Commerce). www.cowboy.vc

• Nomura has named Jan Newman and Ben Lowther, previously of Newman Lowther & Associates, as co-heads of a new South Africa office and team. Read more.

• Pomona Capital has promoted Sebastien Bowen and Ryan Levitt to partner. Bowen joined the firm in 2010 from MetLife Investments, while Levitt joined 2007 from GE Capital. www.pomonacapital.com

Share today's Term Sheet:
http://fortune.com/newsletter/termsheet

About the Author
By Dan Primack
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Digital security padlock with encrypted binary code on futuristic circuit board.
NewslettersCFO Daily
Why investing in cybersecurity just became a ‘must-have’ for CFOs
By Sheryl EstradaMarch 3, 2026
32 minutes ago
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase
EconomyInflation
Jamie Dimon has a feeling inflation will be the ‘skunk at the party’—and the Iran conflict may already be enough to scare off the Fed for good
By Eleanor PringleMarch 3, 2026
1 hour ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Making sense of Anthropic’s fight with the Pentagon—and OpenAI’s opportunity
By Allie GarfinkleMarch 3, 2026
2 hours ago
CryptoVisa
Exclusive: Visa to expand card partnership with Stripe’s Bridge to over 100 countries
By Ben WeissMarch 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Personal FinanceBanks
Top CD rates today, March 3, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.15%
By Glen Luke FlanaganMarch 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Personal FinanceSavings accounts
Today’s top high-yield savings rates: Up to 5.00% on March 3, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganMarch 3, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slideshows
By Emma BurleighMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put Scott on the path to give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Your grandparents are the reason the U.S. isn't in a recession right now. That won't last forever
By Eleanor PringleMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, March 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 2, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard controls a sprawling business empire that dominates the economy
By Jason MaMarch 2, 2026
19 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.