2019 M&A Rankings – Unicorn Recovery?
With Unicorn’s like WeWork in the news, it may be tough to get past the battered unicorn storyline! Overall Tech M&A, especially internet/e-commerce and business software continue to be strong.
Though Slack’s Direct listing didn’t have the hype of an IPO it did maximize the capital gained to the company (vs the late-stage investors). The company’s performance has suffered from competition from Microsoft teams. In spite of those challenges look for more direct listings next year, with rumors of AirBnB and GitLab. Direct listings will create liquidity for the employees and cash for more M&A.
In any case, here are some of the more interesting lists from 2019 for Startup Funding and M&A. Note that Index is building a database from previous years as well as vertical markets.
I’ll look forward to reconnecting in the New Year! Let me know what M&A topics you’d like me to cover in 2020! Dave.Parker@StartupDigestMail.com
Tech M&A has remained strong in 2019, registering only a moderate decline against a much sharper fall in global M&Amergers.whitecase.com +
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A fresh class of unicorns is all set for another trip around the sun. Check out this year’s edition of our interactive list tracking the new entrants to the group.pitchbook.com +
While bigger funding rounds may not always be better, they definitely dominate the headlines. These 11 startups have had the biggest funding rounds so far.about.crunchbase.com +
This year was meant to be triumphal for a16z. But four highly-anticipated IPOs failed to impress and a report emerged that its fund returns have been falling off. What’s next for the iconic VC firm?pitchbook.com