Good Thursday Morning,
Daylight – What is happening in Davos is not staying in Davos. They are talking about the rise of one company more than any other, and it is Ant Financial, the digital payments arm of Alibaba, China’s e-commerce banking goliath that gained over 100 million new clients last year, taking its total above 500 million – almost 10 times the level of the world’s biggest banks. The online bank has acquired a huge amount of data and has the ability to make instantaneous credit decisions with virtually no human interaction.
Live Rounds – This is why Eric Jin, Ant Financial’s chief executive, will speak today with no one missing from the room. His topic is “Digital Disruption in Banking.” Meanwhile, the Davos committee on failed capitalism had their meeting yesterday, and what did they suggest to make capitalism work? They proclaimed people who have not benefited from globalization need to try harder to emulate those who have succeeded. If that is their best case, Trump’s insurrection may continue for some time. After their meeting ended, they attended a tasting session on fine wine.
M&A – Hewlett-Packard agreed to acquire Simplivity, a data center technology company, for $650 million in cash.
Microsoft acquired Simplygon, a creator of 3D animation tools.
Style – Now with 1,100 sites in 30 countries, Repair Cafe is a local meeting place that brings together people with broken items for repair coaches or volunteers to help fix them. The cafes have taken root in 11 states and are most prevalent in communities with residents who are sustainability-minded and have a strong community ethic. Organizers count as small victories – any broken goods like a vacuum cleaner or toaster that can be repaired and kept out of the trash. By the way, lamps top the list of items brought in to be repaired.
Hot – The Repair Cafe started its roots in Amsterdam, not too far from Switzerland, but Repair Cafe is a loooong way from Davos. As I think about it, could be a match.com revenue model here.
Economics – This morning, Netflix is adding $4.7 billion to market cap, as stock soars 8.2 percent toward a record high in premarket trading. The company crushed its revenue and new customer numbers yesterday in their quarterly report after the market closed.
Culture – Netflix’s big, bold gamble on creating and distributing original content has paid off. “Stranger Things,” “The Crown,” “Luke Cage” and the remake of “Gilmore Girls” were winners, and Netflix did not have to pay royalty fees to studios – all Netflix Originals.
Investment Banking – Pipedrive, a CRM platform and Salesforce competitor, raised $17 million.
Spotlight – Nashville members Dusty Barker and Bonner Black spent the afternoon at Oxford, working on a plan for a partnership on BrandFilms, a short film about company brands with performers. Dusty has finished up his business-side tour with Carrie Underwood and is now ready to expand his business. Bonner will also perform this Saturday at our member Celtic Testing’s yearly kickoff meeting. Clint Gharib, who held a dinner last night for over 40 customers at Capital Grill. As I was leaving, one of the customers from Chattanooga summed it up well – this is a classy group.
Deal Stream>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
IPO – CEC Entertainment, the parent company of pizza-and-arcade chain Chuck E. Cheese’s, has begun prepping for an initial public offering that could value the company at more than $1 billion.
Claire’s Inc, an affordable jewelry and accessories retailer, has withdrawn its plans for an initial public offering. The company filed to go public in May 2013.
Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company that offers an implantable device to treat opioid addiction, has set its IPO terms. It plans to offer 7.7 million shares priced between $18 to $21 per share.
Exits – DataBank, an information management and security company, agreed to acquire C7 Data Centers, a data center service provider.
LFM Capital acquired EDSCO Fasteners, a manufacturer of anchoring systems for large steel structures, from Validor Capital.
Venture Capital – Upside.com, a discount site for business travelers started by Priceline.com founder Jay Walker, raised $50 million.
Salsify, a product content management platform for distributed commerce, raised $30 million.
ProtectWise, an enterprise security platform, raised $25 million.
Deputy, a provider of cloud-based workforce management services, raised $25 million.
Aviatrix Systems, a developer of software that allows companies to build hybrid clouds, raised $15 million.
SilverCloud Health, a provider of evidence-based online mental health and behavioral therapies, raised $8.1 million.
Rhythm Superfoods, a kale and sweet potato chip producer, raised $6 million.
TellusLabs, a monitoring and machine learning company, raised $3.1 million.
TeamDom, a branding and media advertising company, raised $1 million.
New Enterprise Associates, venture firm, is raising $3 billion for its latest fund, New Enterprise Associates 16, L.P.
Kline Hill Partners, a private equity firm, raised $180 million.
Rock Hill, a private equity firm, raised $151 million for its third fund.
Private Equity – Gen Cap America, Inc. acquired Gared Holdings, a designer and manufacturer of sporting goods equipment for athletes.
Bain Capital Private Equity acquired a majority stake in Daymon Worldwide, a provider of branding, merchandising, and marketing services for retailers.
PrideSports, a golf equipment manufacturer, merged with MacNeill Engineering, a maker of athletic and industrial footwear components.
Capital Private Equity agreed to acquire PSA Healthcare, an Atlanta-based pediatric home care services provider.
Parallel49 Equity purchased Kinetrex Energy, a supplier of liquefied natural gas, from Citizens Energy Group.
KPS Capital Partners’ portfolio company Electrical Components International, Inc. agreed to acquire Fargo Assembly Company, a manufacturer of electrical wiring assemblies.
The Employees Retirement System of Hawaii has committed $35 million to a Hawaii Targeted Investment Program, a limited partnership.
And that’s what’s ahead, Cliff
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The post Ant Financial Grows, Cold in Davos, Repair Cafe is Real, Netflix on Fire, Pipedrive Flies appeared first on Oxford Entrepreneurs.