The Strand 🌴 - August 5, 2019
ServiceTitan acquires CUC Software, James Murdoch and Robert De Niro partner up, Leonard Green and Ares acquire Press Ganey, and Ordermark raises $18M Series B.
Welcome to the thirty-eighth 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
Ordermark, a Culver City, California-based provider of online ordering management solutions for restaurants, has raised $18 million in Series B funding. Foundry Group led the round, and was joined by investors including Los Angeles-based TenOneTen Ventures, Vertical Venture Partners, Los Angeles-based Mucker Capital, Act One Ventures, and Nosara Capital. Los Angeles Business Journal
Stackin’, a Los Angeles, California-based text-message-based financial platform, has raised $4 million in Series A funding. Experian Ventures, Dig Ventures, and Cherry Tree Investments led the round, and were joined by investors including Social Leverage, Los Angeles-based Wavemaker Partners, and Los Angeles-based Mucker Capital. Los Angeles Business Journal
Trueface, a Los Angeles, California-based computer vision company that augments existing camera data into so-called “actionable data” using machine learning and AI, raised $3.7 million in seed funding. Lavrock Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Scout Ventures and Monroe Capital. TechCrunch
Private Equity Funding
No Los Angeles-based investors or companies were involved in private equity transactions this past week.
Liquidity / Exits / M&A
A consortium of investors led by Los Angeles-based Leonard Green & Partners and Ares Management acquired Press Ganey Associates, a South Bend, Indiana-based maker of workforce engagement solutions for healthcare organization, from EQT. Financial terms were not disclosed. Business Wire
CVC Capital Partners agreed to acquire Ontic, a Chatsworth, California-based provider of parts for aerospace platforms for $1.37 billion, from BBA Aviation plc. Reuters
ServiceTitan, a Glendale, California-based software platform for home service businesses, acquired CUC Software, a Billings, Montana-based provider of service business software. PR Newswire
New Funds
Gron Ventures, a Newport Beach, California-based venture capital firm, has raised more than $117 million for its debut fund, with a target of $150 million. PE Hub
Powerplant Ventures, a Hermosa Beach, California-based growth equity firm, has raised $165 million for its second fund. Crunchbase News
IPOs
Beyond Meat ($BYND), an El Segundo, California-based vegetarian burger maker, filed for a secondary offering of 3.23 million shares at $160 / share, six times the price of its IPO. Shares of the company skidded almost 11% last Thursday, a day after the company priced the secondary offering. CNBC
On The Move
No Los Angeles-based firms gained notable new employees this past week.
Featured Jobs
Snap, a camera company, is hiring a Content Marketing Manager in the company’s greater LA office.
Tinder, a dating app that brings people together, is hiring an International Director of Product in the company’s greater LA office.
News, Resources, & Required Reading
ABC Chief Karey Burke made an impassioned pitch for broadcast television, arguing her company has the muscle to compete with streaming services like Netflix that have stolen so many viewers from conventional networks. Bloomberg
Banned from sports and dropped by sponsors, Lance Armstrong is back with a hit podcast, a new athletic brand, and a venture capital firm. Bloomberg Businessweek
Dow dives 760+ points as US-China trade war escalates, sparking sell-off in the stock market. CNN
Facebook has approached Netflix, Disney, and other media companies about putting their streaming services on a new Facebook device for making video calls from televisions. The Information
Hobbs and Shaw spins into top spot at the weekend box office. Los Angeles Business Journal
How tech is helping sweetgreen serve better food - and do more good. Built in LA
James Murdoch acquires majority stake in Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival. LA Times
LAX passenger traffic was up 1% in the first half of 2019 as 43 million passengers went through the nine terminals from January through June. Los Angeles Business Journal
Los Angeles tech companies soak up $205 million in funding for July. Built in LA
The Carlyle Group is moving to a “one share, one vote” model, meaning that each investor has a proportional say in how the company is run. As a result, Carlyle now has the opportunity to be included in the major stock indexes run by S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell. Carlyle has also converted to a “C corporation”, joining private equity rivals KKR and Blackstone. New York Times
The LA Dodgers pitch $100 million stadium renovation plan. Los Angeles Business Journal
Take a Break
Equinox is betting superfans can cut through the New York hotel glut as the company opens its first luxury hotel at Hudson Yards. Bloomberg Pursuits
Fast & Furious stars complicated demand - I never want to lose a fight. Wall Street Journal
Marriott jumps into all-inclusive resorts with Ritz-Carlton deal. Bloomberg Pursuits
The 10 best drinks for summer. Bloomberg Pursuits