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PRESS RELEASE: Blackpeak advises – A$45m growth equity raising for Phocas Software

Blackpeak is pleased to announce that it acted as financial adviser to Phocas Software on its A$45m growth equity raising. Phocas is a leading provider of data analytics software solutions for the manufacturing, distribution and retail industries.

Below is a link to the announcement from Phocas and the AFR article.

https://www.phocassoftware.com/business-intelligence-blog/phocas-raises-45-million-in-capital-raise

https://www.afr.com/technology/data-analytics-company-phocas-raises-45m-20210126-p56wyb

Categories: AGC Partners Insights

AGC PARTNERS INSIGHTS: SPACS DEMOCRATIZING ACCESS TO PRIVATE TECH COMPANIES – JANUARY 2021

The 176 recent Tech SPACs in the market are breaking open the private equity world to allow the younger and sometimes more speculative companies into the public markets. PE, later stage VC, and strategics are no longer the only option.

Simultaneously, the oceans of cash in pensions, hedge funds, institutional investors, family offices, and Robinhood accounts can now play in the early stage technology company arena – it’s a brave new world.

Do not get me wrong! This is a much higher-risk world of investing, where single investments and companies can crash and burn overnight. You are not investing in Disney-type companies.

The results so far are spectacular. The 41 announced or closed Tech SPACs are up 60%, with only 3 below their $10 issue price. Valuations are up and stock performance is slightly down on recent SPAC deals. The 27 closed deals are up 76%, with a 7.3x revenue multiple, and the 14 announced deals are up 43%, with a 13.7x revenue multiple.

There have been 16 Tech SPAC filings in the last two weeks, including Thoma’s $900M SPAC. The median raise is $225M, down from $284M on the most recently closed SPACs, and the warrants are trending from 1/2 to zero. In fact, Thoma filed their IPO with 1/5 warrants, then filed an amendment taking public warrants down to zero – telling! The median EV is down slightly from $1.7B to $1.5B, and this trend should continue because median SPAC proceeds are coming down. SoFi just announced at ~$9B EV, up 60%, and Achronix at $2B, up 12%. Interesting that SoFi was announced just 3 months after completing their IPO. The 27 closed SPACs were announced roughly 16 months from IPO, and the 14 announced SPACs were 7 months. Expect more SPACs to be finding and announcing their acquisitions at a faster pace, as the SPAC market gets more fluid and institutionalized.

With 41 Tech SPACs announced or closed and 135 in or soon to be in the market for acquisitions, we have massive experimentation for this new world of earlier stage public tech companies. We are already seeing deal size getting smaller, driven by far more acquisition targets at sub-$1.5B values. The public warrants are trending down or going away completely. Announced valuations are going up, which may have a dampening effect on aftermarket performance and hedge fund and institutional investor demand. The common and core mission for sponsors, PIPE investors, and acquired companies should be to fund quality tech companies ready for the public limelight that are priced for success.

Click to download AGC’s report: AGC-SPAC-Update-Jan-2021

 

 

Categories: AGC Partners Insights

AGC PARTNERS INSIGHTS: THE ECOMMERCE TSUNAMI – MARKETPLACES GO MAINSTREAM – DECEMBER 2020

The COVID 19 Pandemic has accelerated what was already an “E-Commerce Wave” to become an “E-Commerce Tsunami”. As consumers have been holed up in their homes, online commerce has exploded. According to Nielsen, pre-COVID, only 9% of global consumers were shopping online regularly. Through COVID, 27% started shopping online for the first time. By May 2020, 44% said they were shopping online regularly each week. And, a recent study of 14,000 consumers by Shopkick also supports this massive change in consumer behavior. That report states that 60% of the study’s respondents say that the Pandemic has forever changed their shopping habits.

This report on Marketplaces is Part One in a Three Part “E-Commerce Tsunami” Series:
Part 1: Marketplaces Go Mainstream
Part 2: The Strong Swell of DTC Brands Disrupting the Retail Landscape
Part 3: The Technology Undertow Powering Massive Changes to the Retail Industry

This report focuses on how Marketplaces have in fact “gone mainstream.” They represent a $2.1 Trillion market opportunity with 1200+ companies across the U.S and Europe. They represent over 50% of all online purchases and almost 60% of Amazon’s total revenues. Marketplaces thrive across a wide variety of verticals and expansive types of products—from habit forming daily transactions to high cost luxury experiences. This report also focuses on the Marketplace models of today and and key success factors.

Click to download AGC’s report: AGC-Marketplaces-Go-Mainstream-Dec-2020

 

 

Categories: AGC Partners Insights

AGC PARTNERS INSIGHTS: REAL ESTATE TECH – NOVEMBER 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has forced a once-in-a-generation shift at all levels of the real estate value chain as tenants and owners rethink how they use space and allocate strained budgets. The critical importance of real estate tech to solving the current crisis is demonstrated by unprecedented investment into real estate tech solutions, a historic spike in M&A activity and a massive run up in share prices for most public real estate tech companies.

Click to download AGC’s report: AGC-Real-Estate-Tech-Nov-2020

 

 

Categories: AGC Partners Insights

AGC PARTNERS INSIGHTS: SUPPLY CHAIN & ERP SOFTWARE – 2020 PANDEMIC MARKET UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2020

While the Pandemic has upended economic, political and social life across the globe, it has also poured lighter fluid on many of the trends in the supply chain software sector that have been burning hot for the past several years.

From the Amazon effect in retail eCommerce and fulfilment to the rise of automation and visibility platforms in global transportation networks, to accelerated roboticization in warehouse and distribution centers, the emergence of eCommerce as a dominating force in retail has quickened dramatically in just the last four months.

The supply chain software sector has been a clear beneficiary of these trends as investors and acquirers have continued to pour investment and M&A resources into both established and emerging companies. At the current activity levels through July 2020, we are on pace to exceed the record-breaking 2019.

Click to download AGC’s report: SCM-Market-Update-2020

 

 

Categories: AGC Partners Insights

AGC PARTNERS INSIGHTS: TELEHEALTH – THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE – SEPTEMBER 2020

Prior to COVID, annual gains in Telehealth usage were measured in basis points. The current episode has effectively compressed a decade or more of hoped-for adoption into a matter of months. From every quarter, the data keeps rolling in showing Telehealth services growing at a blistering pace. According to a study recently released by Fair Health, Telehealth claim lines increased 8,335% year-over-year during the month of April in the U.S. Telehealth is defined as the use of information and telecom tech to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional education, public health and health administration. Technologies include various real-time interactive communications such as mobile video and IP video conferencing as well as store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and wireless communication between connected devices. This report takes a closer look into the market as well as companies in the ecosystem, M&A and private placement activity.

Click to download AGC’s report: AGC-Telehealth-Sep-2020

 

 

Categories: AGC Partners Insights

AGC PARTNERS INSIGHTS: GAME TECH – HOW TECHNOLOGY IS TRANSFORMING GAMING – OCTOBER 2020

During the Covid-19 pandemic, as people are self-isolating and socially distancing, online and mobile entertainment is booming. The global games market is expected to generate revenues of $159 billion in 2020. Gaming and entertainment technologies have experienced amazing advances in the past few years with billions of dollars invested in virtual and augmented reality, 3D computer graphics, GPU and CPU processing power, and real time immersive experiences.

This report focuses on the technologies that empower the creation of games and online entertainment.

Click to download AGC’s report: Game-Tech-Whitepaper