The Strand 🌴 - August 12, 2019
Endeavor Group, the parent company of Hollywood's biggest talent agency, delays IPO, Genstar acquires Worldwide Facilities, and Snap issues $1.1B of convertible notes to facilitate growth.
Welcome to the thirty-ninth edition of The Strand, a weekly-ish newsletter covering venture capital, private equity, and general business news from around the Los Angeles area. My name is Brendan Boken, a native of Southern California. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, send deals/news to brendanboken@gmail.com.
Venture Capital Funding
Tripalink, a Los Angeles, California-based co-living startup, has raised $10 million in Series B funding at a $100 million valuation. Investors include Calin SJG Fund, L.P, K2VC, Tekton Ventures, and Oriza Venture. Crunchbase News
Private Equity Funding
Endeavor Group, the Los Angeles, California-based parent company of Hollywood’s biggest talent agency, is closing in on the purchase of premium-hospitality and live-events company On Locations Experiences LLC for as much as $700 million. The Wall Street Journal
Newfield Capital Partners made an investment in iCONECT, an El Segundo, California-based provider of a legal document review platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. PE Hub
Liquidity / Exits / M&A
Genstar Capital will acquire Worldwide Facilities, a Los Angeles, California-based wholesale insurance brokerage, managing general agency, and program manager. Financial terms were not disclosed. PR Newswire
Pattonair Limited, a portfolio company of Beverly Hills, California-based Platinum Equity, has acquired Valencia, California-based Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. for $1.9 billion. LA Business Journal
Trinity Hunt Partners acquired Wexco International, a Marina Del Rey, California-based provider of litigation-focused forensic engineering services. Financial terms were not disclosed. PE Hub
Wpromote, which is backed by Los Angeles, California-based Shamrock Capital Partners, acquired Growth Pilots, a San Francisco, California-based paid media marketing agency. Financial terms were not disclosed. PR Newswire
New Funds
No LA-based firms raised new funds this past week.
IPOs
Endeavor Group, the Los Angeles, California-based parent company of Hollywood’s biggest talent agency, plans to delay its IPO until September at the earliest. The company is likely to seek a valuation between $7 billion to $8 billion and raise in excess of $500 million in its IPO. The Wall Street Journal
On The Move
Adam Marchick, a serial entrepreneur whose last two companies include Alpine.AI and Kahuna, has joined Los Angeles-based Chernin Group as an executive-in-residence. Crunchbase
Featured Jobs
Ares Management, a global asset manager, is hiring an Investor Relations Associate in the company’s greater Los Angeles office.
Oaktree Capital Management, a leading global alternative investment management firm, is hiring a Real Estate Analyst or Associate in the company’s greater Los Angeles office.
News, Resources, & Required Reading
American Airlines expands Los Angeles footprint with Rams and Chargers stadium deal. LA Business Journal
Blackstone has snapped up a stake in private equity rival BC Partners, as buyout groups turn to unconventional ways to benefit from the industry’s boom. The Financial Times
Cannabis marketplace LeafLink raises $35M, with plans to grow LA team. Built in LA
Cerritos-based Revolve reports loss in first quarterly results since going public in June. LA Business Journal
Los Angeles-based Colony Capital sees losses widen in second quarter and expands on plans to sell multi-billion dollar industrial portfolio of 450 properties by the end of 2019. LA Business Journal
Meet the unicorn class of 2019. Pitchbook
New York-based Barney’s, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, has received $218 million in new financing from the lending arms of Beverly Hills-based B. Riley Financial Inc. and Brigade Capital Management. LA Business Journal
Snap priced $1.1 billion of convertible notes, due in 2026. This is slightly up-sized from a $1 billion offering size, reflecting how Snap has become tech’s comeback kid. The "camera company" was valued at $29 billion in its first day of post-IPO trading in early 2017 — or $26.05 per share — before bottoming out at less than $5 per share at year-end 2018. Last week it briefly regained its $17 IPO price on better-than-expected Q2 earnings, and the $1.1 billion infusion should help it invest more in both content and features. Axios
Weekly refresh: Big fundraises from Sidecar Health, LeafLink, Mira, and more. Built in LA
Take a Break
Matthew Perry’s gorgeous L.A. penthouse is on sale for $35 million. Town & Country
See the 1980s Ferraris, Lancias, and Porsches that will star at Pebble Beach. Bloomberg Pursuits
Surf through the city on Audi’s 4-wheeled e-tron electric scooter. HICONSUMPTION