Hi, it’s Katie in San Francisco — welcome to the Bloomberg Deals newsletter. Today I’m recalling a recent chat I had with some of the people behind one of the crypto world’s rising stars and recapping all the deal news of the day.
Today's top stories
Crypto Craze
Following Coinbase’s direct listing this year, there has been significant private investor attention on the next up-and-coming crypto startups.
I recently spoke to Solana co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko at the blockchain platform’s Breakpoint conference in Lisbon. The business has had an impressive run since launching last year.
Solana is trying to challenge Ethereum to be the biggest player in decentralized finance, a fast-moving area within crypto where tokens are used to conduct transactions such as borrowing, trading and lending assets.
Solana's platform operates at a faster rate than its bigger rival Ethereum, according to a report by my colleagues Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou and Charlie Wells.
It is hard to believe in this short amount of time that the business has gone from an idea to an integral part of the crypto ecosystem. SOL, the coin that runs on the network, saw its price go from about $2 a year ago to about $223 today, for a market cap of more than $67 billion.
VCs are taking note. Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, Alameda Research and CoinShares backed the company in a funding round earlier this year.
The other Solana co-founder, Raj Gokal, said that Solana’s blockchain platform has appeal because “it’s fast and it’s cheap.” They are building a financial system that is “as easy as sending an email,” Gokal said. (Solana did have a major outage in September though).
Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and founder at venture firm Seven Seven Six, announced that he was partnering with Solana Ventures on a $100 million investment to build social media companies, like the next Reddit or Meta on Solana’s blockchain.
“I’m a glutton for different blockchain technology,” Ohanian told me.
He also said he’s very enthusiastic about the future of Web3, a so-called decentralized internet on the blockchain that's not dependent on the internet giants like Alphabet. Startups focused on Web3 have already been attracting funding from investors like Third Point. “It’s a chance to rebuild the internet,” Ohanian said.
Besides VC rounds, a lot of the crypto-related deal activity has been through SPACs. So if you hear of any more of those being in the works, or IPOs or M&A happening in the space, drop me a line.
M&A focus
Advent and Centerbridge have offered to buy Aareal Bank, the German commercial real estate lender that’s been under pressure from activist investors. The private equity firms offered 29 euros per share, valuing the company at 1.74 billion euros.
Edotco, a unit of Malaysia’s biggest mobile-phone carrier, is in exclusive talks to buy telecoms infrastructure provider Touch Matrix, write Elffie Chew and Yantoultra Ngui. Touch’s owners are seeking as much as 1.8 billion ringgit ($430 million) for the builder and lessor of wireless towers.
IPO watch
India’s equity markets had been on a tear this year, buoyed by a central bank that slashed interest rates to a record low and millions of new individual investors seeking higher returns in riskier assets. But a stunning two-day plunge by India’s Paytm after its IPO casts a shadow over the prospects for tech firms preparing to go public in what was supposed to be the country’s breakout year. Nupur Acharya and Saritha Rai report.
IPO Boom
Companies going public in India this year raised a record amount
Source: Bloomberg
Appliance maker Midea is exploring a potential relisting of German robotics firm Kuka on an Asian stock exchange, write Vinicy Chan and Manuel Baigorri. The Chinese group said Tuesday it plans to squeeze out minority shareholders and delist the company in Frankfurt. A relisting would help it tap demand from Chinese investors and take advantage of potentially higher valuations in the domestic stock market.
Longfor is considering an IPO for its property management business in Hong Kong that could raise as much as $1 billion, report Julia Fioretti, Pei Li and Vinicy Chan. The listing could take place as soon as first half of 2022.
Shuaa Capital, which oversees around $14 billion in assets, is considering IPOs of two of its portfolio companies as Dubai’s efforts to revive its stock market gain traction among private businesses, writes Nicolas Parasie. It’s in talks about listing Stanford Marine Group and NCM Investment.
SPAC wrap
Manscaped, a startup specializing in below-the-waist men’s grooming products, plans to go public through a merger with a blank-check company that values the combined entity at about $1 billion. PIPE investors include actor Channing Tatum, Signia Venture Partners and Guggenheim Investments, writes Gillian Tan.
U.K. venture capital firm Hambro Perks aims to raise 140 million pounds listing a SPAC in London, in what could be the market’s first major blank-check offering since overhauling its rules.
Activist corner
Voss Capital, a top-10 investor in Griffon, has nominated three directors to the company’s board and is calling on the manufacturer to explore all available alternatives to improve its performance, including a breakup, writes Scott Deveau.
Who’s news
Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson, two research analysts who are often quoted speaking about media and wireless companies, could be soon doing a deal of their own. Their firm, MoffettNathanson is in talks to be acquired by SVB Financial, which has been building up its TMT banking franchise lately, report Gillian Tan and Liana Baker.
Opinion
The $8 billion purchase of Swedish biotech Sobi by Advent and GIC has the support of most shareholders. But the market is still guessing what one particular investor plans to do, and it’s turning the buyout into a real nailbiter, writes Chris Hughes.
Best of the rest
- Cowen buys software-focused M&A firm Portico.
- Generali in early talks to buy Credit Agricole unit.
- Interfor agrees to buy a sawmill company in Canada.
- Orange Belgium in talks to buy stake in telecom operator Voo.
- Goldman analyst turned ‘Bake Off’ star finds City of London fame.
- Clean energy firm FRV weighs asset sale in Chile.
- PE-backed spyware company NSO is at risk of default.
- Investcorp targets $500m to invest in Saudi pre-IPO firms.
- More than 160 SPACs flagged accounting problems: Bloomberg Law
Got a tip or want to send in questions? Tweet/DM @bloombergdeals or any of our reporters.
Being 'Fast and Cheap' Is Fueling New Crypto Star Solana's Rise, Founder Says - Bloomberg
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