Good Tuesday Morning,
Daylight – Clemson University and Trello are in “La La Land” this morning. Clemson won the college football national championship with one second left on the clock and Trello, a software-driven electronic whiteboard used by teams to manage projects, has a big exit as the New York-based company sold to semi-rival Atlassian for $425 million ($360 million of which is cash).
Trello’s investors will receive a multiple of around 10 times their investment. Trello sold just 22 percent of its shares to investors. Trello was started by Michael Pryor and Joel Spolsky, who are probably the most underestimated founders in New York. Trello was relaunched from a failed computer game.
Live Rounds – Carnival hits it out of the park, and every Entrepreneur should know it. Arnold Donald, Carnival’s CEO, became the first travel executive to ever step up and give an opening keynote speech at CES, during which he unveiled Carnival’s new technology—the Ocean Medallion, a quarter-sized bullion, replacing the cruise card to personalize the cruise experience and yielding higher revenue via greater onboard revenue. It includes more than bigger bar tabs.
Style – The medallion can be worn on a chain, wristband or simply put into your pocket. The medallion is connected to each passenger’s profile and allows for keyless entry to cabins (just pulling down on the handle, as stationary sensors verify the medallion), easy embarkation and disembarkation (literally in moments, as passenger profiles sync with staff devices), and provides electronic currency for all onboard activities/merchandise. The medallion also allows passengers to locate other members of their party at any time, as sensors on the ship monitor passenger movements and enable interactive gambling options anywhere on board.
Carnival will be able to store and retrieve passengers’ prior activities and individual preferences on the ship, as well as indicated likes/dislikes, and passenger profiles will ultimately be portable across all Carnival brands.
Economics – In addition, passengers can order items such as cocktails, food or suntan lotion and have them delivered anywhere on the ship (the medallion automatically alerts crew where the passenger is).
On November 12, the medallion service will launch on Regal Princess, followed by two more Princess ships in spring 2018. By 2019, everything changes – Medallion Apps. My guess is Club Med will make a killing on this.
M&A – Sun Capital Partners has completed the sale of Lexington Home Brands, a Thomasville, N.C.-based manufacturer and marketer of residential and contract furnishings.
Buzzard’s Roost – Yahoo will rename itself Altaba, if the sale goes through to Verizon. In a regulatory filing, the company said Marissa Mayer will leave the company. Say something nice – Yahoo has a billion users.
The World Cup will grow to 48 teams from 32, starting with the 2026 tournament. The plan was approved yesterday by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, viewed skeptically by many players and fans.
Culture – Late last evening, Real Estate Entrepreneur Jared Kushner was named a Senior White House Adviser to his father-in-law and President-elect Donald Trump, cementing the notion that the next White House management structure will mirror the Trump empire hierarchy – family at the top and trusted staff below. Count on it no other way. Past presidents have brought their state campaign structures to govern new White House administrations. Donald Trump brings his family. By the way, Trump has promised a broadcast press conference tomorrow, and President Obama will deliver his farewell address tonight.
Investment Banking – Primus Capital has invested in Payspan, an Atlanta-based provider of reimbursement solutions to the healthcare industry.
Today, Turkey’s central bank announced steps to curb lira’s steep decline.
Hedge Funds – Golden Tree raises $600 million for risky loan funds, seeking double-digit returns. The new fund will issue bonds backed by risky loans. This structure satisfies new risk retention regulations, which started last month in the United States. Managers of collateralized loan obligations are now required to retain five percent of the economic interest of each new deal they issue in an attempt to align fund managers and investors.
Spotlight – Member Nash Ogden, co-founder of Innoppl, expands both onshore and offshore app development business. What is your Ocean Medallion for your business?
Tuesday’s Waterfront View of Big Deals
IPO – Neiman Marcus, a luxury fashion retailer, is withdrawing its initial public offering. The department store operator reported five straight quarters of declining comparable sales.
Exits – Ardian has sold its majority stake in Altares, a data company, to Naxicap Partners.
Venture Capital – Grail, a life sciences company focused on early cancer detection that operates as a subsidiary of Illumina Inc., is seeking to raise over $1 billion.
CiVi Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical developing treatments for cardiometabolic diseases, raised $40 million.
Cavion, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing cancer-treatment drugs, raised $26.1 million.
Microbion Corp, a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, raised $25 million.
SiteOne, a developer of pain therapeutics and diagnostic tools, raised $15 million.
Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company focused on treating migraines, raised $12 million.
MyTomorrows, a platform to help patients and physicians track treatments, raised $10.5 million.
Blue Pillar, a provider of power and energy management services for facilities, raised $10 million.
Eleven James, an annual membership club for watch rentals, raised around $9 million.
HousingAnywhere.com, a rental listings platform for students, raised $5.3 million.
MatriSys Bioscience, a company developing microbiome skin care treatments, raised $1.5 million.
Team8, an incubator for cyber security startups, raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Microsoft and Qualcomm’s venture arms.
Private Equity – Belcan, a supplier of engineering and technical recruiting services to the aerospace, industrial and government services industries, has acquired The Kemtah Group, an IT services management company.
Impact Sales, a sales and marketing agency for companies in the consumer packaged goods industry, has acquired Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing Inc, an sales and marketing agency. Impact Sales is owned by CI Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Riverside Company and The Silverfern Group have acquired Waste Services Group, a waste management company.
And that’s what’s ahead, Cliff
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The post Trello Hits Tech Triple, Bigger Bar Tabs, Golden Tree Raises $500 Million for Risky Fund, Neiman Marcus Marks Down IPO appeared first on Oxford Entrepreneurs.