Author: vivian
Airbnb to increase fundraising round to US$ 1 billion
Airbnb Inc has authorised the sale of an additional US$153 million in Series F shares, bringing the size of its current fundraising effort to about US$1 billion, according to Tech Crunch.
This was suggested by a new Delaware filing for Airbnb on Friday, identified by research firm CB Insights. The amount comes as an extension to their financing US$555 million round back in September 2016.
With the latest round, the filing prices the shares at US$105, which is consistent with the financing values the home-rental startup said at about US$30 billion.
Details of the equity are still unknown and it is not clear which investors might be getting these shares or if the round is even confirmed.
Dating back to its founding in 2008, Airbnb has raised more than US$3 billion in capital. Previous Airbnb backers include Google Capital, Technology Crossover Ventures, GGV Capital and Sequoia Capital.
The San Francisco-based company has secured a US$1 billion debt facility this year from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley.
The company also used some of its capital to buy back shares from Morgan Stanley this year.
Airbnb does not have a comment on the filing.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Practo makes fifth acquisition, buys analytics startup Enlightiks for US$13.9 million
Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a web-based clinic management software developer, has today announced the acquisition of US-based advanced analytics firm Enlightiks Inc. and its Indian operations in a cash-and-stock deal.
The deal, which details the acquisition of Bengaluru-based Enlightiks Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, an advanced analytics platform offering business intelligence solutions to healthcare enterprises, is valued at Rs 92 crore (about US$13.9 million).
Post acquisition, the entire 50 member team of Enlightiks will join Practo and form part of an analytics business unit within the company. The unit is said to be headed by Enlightiks co-founder and CEO, Vamsi Chandra Kasivajjala.
This is Practo 5th acquisition till date and its 3rd in the enterprise space. In 2015, the company has acquired four companies – hospital information management solution provider Insta Health for US$12 million, hospital appointment scheduling firm Qikwell, a web and app-based fitness management platform FithoWellness as well as product outsourcing firm Genii.
The primary offering for Enlightiks comes through its proprietary business intelligence and predictive analytics platform – Querent which provides actionable insights for healthcare providers using complex mathematical, statistical, computational and cognitive models.
“This brings Practo closer to its vision of simplifying healthcare by providing end-to-end solutions for the entire eco-system,” said Shashank ND, the Founder & CEO of Practo. “With Querent, we will be able to help CXOs make their enterprises run more efficiently which should improve the overall quality of care while making it more affordable.”
Enligtiks was co-founded in 2012 by Shilpa Peri, Venkatesh Pagidimarri, Dr. Bas Nair and Vamsi Chandra Kasivajjala. The founding team was later joined by Shaunak Joshi and Sunil Kondala.
Their business intelligent solution Querent is capable of providing accurate predictions for key business metrics which will aid enterprises in proactive decision-making that can help create a positive impact on short to medium term business actions.
Besides, the platform also has an ability to read both structured and unstructured information and apply advanced machine learning and deep learning techniques to uncover hidden insights. Querent also facilitates visual interpretation of the collected information in order to generate useful insights for healthcare enterprises across various departments including operations, finance, quality, pricing, marketing, customer management and risk assessment.
More than 200 healthcare centers including hospitals and clinics across the nation are currently using this platform. The list of clients includes names such as Apollo Sugar Clinics Ltd, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Inamdar Multispecialty Hospital, Fernandez Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Eye-Q Vision Pvt Ltd, Sparsh Sandor Nephrocare Services Pvt Ltd, Ramesh Hospitals and more.
While founded in 2008 by Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal, Practo is one of the most well-funded healthcare startups in the country whereby the company has more than US$120 million in funds.
The company raised $90 million in August 2015 through a Series C funding led by Chinese media and technology conglomerate Tencent Holdings Pvt Ltd. It raised $30 million in a Series B round from Sequoia India and Matrix Partners in February 2015. While in 2012, Practo had raised $4.6 million from Sequoia Capital in a Series A funding round.
The firm helps patients book appointments with doctors online and also enables doctors in primary clinics and hospitals to manage patient records under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Practo also facilitates online delivery of medicines, e-consultation and beauty and wellness products.
Commenting on the M&A, co-founder of Enlightiks, Vamsi said “Enlightiks is thrilled to join Practo. We share the same passion for democratising healthcare access for billions of people where business intelligence and analytics are critical.”
“We chose Practo so that we can collaborate and work towards offering superior, comprehensive and integrated solutions for healthcare providers. I look forward to working with Shashank and the Practo team in realising our shared vision of transforming healthcare,” he adds.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Singapore unicorn Garena in talks for US$1 billion IPO listing in the US
Garena Interactive Holding Ltd., a Singapore-based internet and mobile platform company as well as Southeast Asia’s largest unicorn, is reportedly tapping the US stock market for its initial public offering (IPO) that may raise around US$1 billion.
The unicorn, privately valued at US$3.75 billion, was in talks with several banks in Singapore this week discussing the IPO which could commence in 2018, according to sources close to Wall Street Journal.
It is also reported that these investment banks were invited to Singapore for IPO discussion by Garena’s backers – Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.
Also, Garena’s preferences of listing destination lie in the big Apple, New York as due to the reason that the United States has the most listed numbers of internet companies which will provide the required resources and networks.
However, final details on a listing venue and the total amount of funds to be raised has not been decided.
Founded in 2008 by Forrest Li, Garena first started out as an online gaming company. Since then, the startup has grown to become Southeast Asia’s largest Web and mobile platform, with users spreading across countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
At present, the company offers interactive digital content, eSports, e-commerce and online payment products and services, operating a payment system called AirPay, and a social commerce app called Shopee.
Garena has also said in a statement that it has achieved compound annual growth of more than 95 percent over the past five years to over US$300 million in gross revenue in 2015.
In March 2016, Garena has announced a US$170 million Series D investment led by Malaysia’s state investment fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. An additional undisclosed investment was also conducted in September that involved SeaTown Holdings International, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.
With its IPO plan on the move, earlier investors in Garena are expected to realise their investment in the firm. Other backers include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of Canada’s biggest pension funds, and private-equity firm General Atlantic LLC.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Global ecommerce startup Floship bags US$3.5 million funding round
Hong Kong provider of global logistics and fulfillment startup Floship Global Ecommerce Fulfillment recently announced that the company has successfully closed a pre-series A US$3.5 million bridge funding round earlier this December.
This fundraising was participated by Taiwan’s early stage technology-focused Cherubic Ventures, Hong Kong’s Big Boom and Empiricus Capital, as well as China’s Regent Capital.
“We are grateful for the investment of Ardent Capital and Vectr Ventures in earlier funding rounds, and our team is honored to be working with such respected investors as Cherubic Ventures, Big Bloom Capital, Empiricus Capital, and Regent Capital during this most recent round,” said Steve Suh, a Co-Founder of Floship.
Providing global e-commerce fulfillment directly from Hong Kong, Floship leverages on the strategic location of Hong Kong as the world’s number one air cargo hub, providing e-commerce vendors to compete in more markets from one centralized fulfillment warehouse.
“We are beyond excited about the results of our latest funding round. As our company continues to experience growth and gain positive traction in the marketplace, we could not be more thrilled about the validation we have gained from those who have made the decision to invest in our e-commerce fulfillment model,” said Steve Suh.
With the funds, Floship plans to accelerate the service improvements of their technology as well as increasing business expansion efforts through providing clients with seamless integration to ever more e-commerce platforms.
Besides, as Floship’s current technology integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Dear Systems, and Aftership, the company is committed to building more integrations to shopping carts to serve more customers on a wider variety of e-commerce platforms.
Thus, the Floship’s team will also be working on accelerating the development of algorithms that help optimize shipping rates on a per package basis as well as building a set of tools to make it easier for online retailers to manage their daily global fulfillment at scale.
“As a leader in our industry, we differentiate ourselves by providing a highly automated fulfillment experience for online retailers utilizing multiple couriers to obtain the best rates for global e-commerce shipping.” Steve Suh explains.
To date, Floship has completed fulfillment for more than 100 crowdfunding campaigns, some of which have been the most successful in the world.
“But still, as a startup company that doesn’t have the luxury of standing still, we are always striving to improve. This latest funding round will allow us to do just that.” adds Steve Suh.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
EVISU buys back rights to China retail and franchise at US$40 million
Japanese premium denim brand EVISU has recently made a US$40 million buy-back of its China retailing and franchising rights.
The transaction was carried out by the parent company, EVISU Group Limited with the support of Hong Kong-based Cassia Investments, a consumer-focused PE fund.
Both companies have reinvested a consumer-focused private equity fund, to buy back the interest from EVISU’s joint venture partner in China, New Elegant Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd which is financially supported by IDG Capital Partners.
David Pun, chairman and chief executive officer of EVISU Group Limited, will remain the majority shareholder.
“The company made concerted efforts with its China joint venture partner over the past few years to establish brand awareness and secure a footing in China,” explains David.
Sixteen years through EVISU’s franchise partnership with New Elegant Trading has successfully forged a brand awareness in China.
“We think this is an ideal time for the company to integrate its regional China business with headquarters to pursuit the brand’s global objectives in the coming years,” he adds.
Hence, EVISU will now be actively seeking global business expansion by forging distribution partnerships for the U.S. and Europe markets.
The brand will step up product extensions like EVISUKURO, the latest athleisure collection, and maintain product exclusivity through focused management of wholesale distributors.
Founded in 1991 in Japan, EVISU has become a high-end lifestyle brand, offering a range of products which include jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, knitwear, and glasses for both genders.
Some of the brand’s most iconic denim collections include the series with tattoo-designed graphics. Products of EVISU are sold online at EVISU.com and in more than 150 stores located in 14 countries which include Australia, China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, and the United States.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzyZH–2Spo