On January 29th, 2018, Keurig Green Mountain and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group announced an $18.7 billion merger, creating an $11 billion revenue company: Keurig Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper Snapple shareholders will receive a cash dividend of $103.75 per share. After the deal was announced, Dr. Pepper Snapple’s shares rose 22% to $117.07, with a market value of $21.6 billion (compared to a market value of $17 billion pre-announcement).
MEITUAN-DIANPING BECOMES 4TH MOST VALUABLE STARTUP
JAWBONE: THE BIGGEST UNICORN DEATH OF 2017
2017 has been a precarious year inundated with challenges for unicorn startups. Whether it be legal lawsuits, executives departures, or valuation markdowns from IPOs, startups have struggled to generate returns for investors. Among 2017’s most disastrous failures, Jawbone tops this list after filing for liquidation in July
ROARK CAPITAL GIVES BUFFALO WILD WINGS NEW LIFE
A DEVELOPMENT IN THE PRIVATE EQUITY INDUSTRY
BLACKSTONE ACQUIRES CHINESE-BASED SHYA HSIN
Global asset manager Blackstone Group has just reached a deal to acquire China-based cosmetics packaging firm Shya Hsin Packaging on November 10th, 2017. The deal is reportedly worth around $800 to $900 million, although Blackstone is still lining up loan financing of up to $600 million to fund the transaction.
READY FOR SHIPMENT: LOCUS ROBOTICS
Locus Robotics Corporation, a robotics company that manufactures technology for e-commerce warehouses and distributors, has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by Scale Venture Partners. The 17 year-old VC firm based in northern Silicon Valley has approximately $1 billion in AUM and focuses on early-stage internet, cloud computing, and SaaS startups. The recent round of funding indicates support for the hardware industry behind warehouse and manufacturing automation technology.
SOCIAL CAPITAL CHANGES THE VC LANDSCAPE
A trailblazer in the Venture Capital space, CEO Chamath Palihapitiya of Social Capital is changing the way tech venture capitalists support innovation. His first big move came in September of this year when he created Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings, a massive blank check company. The process for tech companies valued at more than $1 billion (the so called “unicorns” of the world) to go public is extremely long and painful. Companies must work with investment banks to conduct an investor road show, incurring significant fees along the way. Social Capital Hedosophia can offer much faster liquidity for investors and employees, trimming the process of “going public” to roughly 60 to 90 days.
MEGADEAL ALERT: UNILEVER SPREADS ITS BUSINESS
19th October 2017 was the deadline Unilever gave to private equity bidders to submit first offers for its spreads business, which comprises margarine brands such as Country Crock, Flora, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Buyers can bid for the entire business unit or for regional packages. The sale is led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and is expected to be executed by the end of 2017.
THE RIDE-HAILING IPO RACE
On October 19th, Lyft announced a new round of $1 billion in financing led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth-focused venture capital fund. The capital raise increases Lyft’s valuation by just under 50%, from $6.9 billion to $11 billion. The investment is accompanied by CapitalG partner David Lawee assuming a seat on the Board of Directors at the startup. Taking advantage of competitor Uber Technologies’ recent corporate troubles, Lyft’s new valuation is their most recent strategic play in steps toward expansion and increased market share.