In recent years, there has been immense growth in the number of venture capital mega funds, which are defined as funds valued at a minimum of $100 million. Total funding in the United States increased from $32.6 billion in 2014 to $71.9 billion in 2017.
PETAL: NO TRAINING WHEELS REQUIRED
Petal, a ‘beginners’ credit card company’ secured another round of funding of $34 million in October from Jefferies and Silicon Valley Bank. This comes several months after raising $13 million from Valar Ventures. Located in New York, one of the main hubs of financial technology (also known as, “Fintech”), Petal is a more developed startup poised to disrupt the credit card industry.
SOFTBANK ACQUIRES FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP
On February 14th, SoftBank announced that it would acquire Fortress Investment Group: a private equity giant with $70 billion in assets under management. The Japanese conglomerate agreed to buy the asset management company for $3.3 billion, representing a 39% premium above the closing price of the stock on the day prior. J.P Morgan and Morgan Stanley served as financial advisers for SoftBank and Fortress, respectively.
OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE: PROSPERITY WITHIN PE
Private equity institutions have a surprising permanence. Whereas the funds they raise are often temporary, the individuals at the helm of private equity firms have largely stayed the same. David Rubenstein, William Conway, and Daniel D’Aniello, the triumvirate that stands atop The Carlyle Group, are all above the age of 65. Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone and Henry Kravis of KKR are in the same boat--both have steered their companies for the past 3 decades. This kind of enduring leadership is both unprecedented and unique to the private equity industry.