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Venture Capital Fundraising and Investment Dollars Remained Healthy Through 1H 2020 Amid Slowdown in Exits and Deal Count Due to Impacts of COVID-19

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Despite external economic headwinds, venture capital (VC) fundraising activity exhibited strength in Q2 2020 while exit and dealmaking activity slowed due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, the authoritative quarterly report on venture capital activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem jointly produced by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), with support from Silicon Valley Bank and Certent. The ten largest funds raised in the first half of the year made up over half of all VC fundraising value so far. Many of these funds likely began fundraising before the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic affected the markets, but closing such massive vehicles remains an impressive feat. Exit activity continued its pandemic-induced struggle during the second quarter, with exit count in 2020 tracking to be the lowest since 2011. With this significant reduction in the number of companies achieving liquidity for investors, there could be serious implications for the rest of the VC ecosystem in the coming years. On the dealmaking side, activity has decelerated rather significantly when looking at figures for the broader industry. However, late-stage financings have outpaced early-stage financings as companies took advantage of high capital availability and investors looked to protect their largest and best investments. While this phenomenon may simply be a COVID-related anomaly in the long term, the high activity at the late-stage is the culmination of many of the recent trends within the US VC industry.

To download the full report and data packs, please click here. PitchBook and NVCA will also be hosting a webinar in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank and Certent on August 5, 2020 from 10:00 – 11:00 am PDT. Please click here to register.

“The massive disruptions roiling across the country have forced venture investors and startups to be agile and adaptable in order to sustain operations, with many difficult decisions being made amid the global pandemic and its economic ramifications,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. “Layoffs and shutdowns have been an unfortunate reality for some companies, but we’ve also seen the resilience of the ecosystem, thanks to a combination of fiscal stimulus, monetary easing, robust VC support of portfolio companies, and the rise of startup sectors meeting the country’s growing healthcare, edtech, consumer services, and other needs brought about by COVID-19. Uncertainty still looms large as we enter the second half of the year, but a strong VC industry along with many startup sectors seeing significant growth offer hope for the country’s path to economic recovery.”

“The strength of VC exits over the past few years has provided LPs with capital to commit to new funds. As a result of strong fundraising, GPs have built up a large stockpile of dry powder, which should allow them to weather the economic downturn due to COVID-19,” said John Gabbert, founder and CEO of PitchBook. “However, the short-term aspect of this disruption is crucial, as an extended economic decline would change some longer-term behaviors around commitments to VC. This is even more important now that funds are taking longer to liquidate and are retaining higher proportions of unrealized value than we saw in past downturns.”

Fundraising Activity
Through the first half of the year, US VCs closed 148 funds totaling more than $42.7 billion, which has already surpassed the full-year total for every year of the decade except 2016, 2018 and 2019. VC mega-funds ($500 million+) have been especially prolific in 2020 with 23 closed so far, which nearly equals the full-year number for 2019. This uptick in outsized funds drove the 2020 median fund size back over $100 million for the first time since 2007 and also contributed to a spike in the average fund size to $300.9 million. Notable large funds that closed this quarter include General Catalyst with a $2.3 billion vehicle and a trio of Lightspeed Venture funds each over $890 million. Much of the success of established VCs has to do with their positive historical performance and name recognition, which has been particularly helpful in a period when no face-to-face meetings are taking place. First-time funds have seen a noticeable drop in new closed funds through Q2 2020, only raising $1.5 billion across 14 vehicles. This is likely due to an inability to capitalize on existing investor relationships, and it doesn’t look like first-time fundraising activity will rebound in 2020, as economic uncertainty could encourage LPs to cut down on new allocations to VC, especially to unproven managers.

Exit Activity
By quarter’s end, exit counts showed the extent of the steep decline that began with the onset of COVID-19 in March. Only 147 exits closed in Q2 worth $21.2 billion, bringing the 1H total to $45.3 billion. It’s hard to measure these figures against 2019 given the massive IPOs that closed last year, but exit values are pacing to drop back towards levels seen pre-2017. Given the exit market provides the release valve to the massive amount of capital that has built up in VC, without a functioning pathway to liquidity, the whole industry could suffer. On the IPO front, there was some positive momentum toward the end of Q2 with companies outside of the biotech industry or special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) completing or filing for public listings. As an example, the Vroom IPO valued the car selling platform at just over $2 billion, which is especially notable as the automobile space has been significantly impacted by the pandemic, potentially implying that the IPO window could be open for a wide swath of startups. Although the pandemic’s effects on potential liquidity haven’t yet reached the dire levels we saw from 2008 through 2010, the next couple of years still hold plenty of uncertainty that may further depress activity.

Investment Activity
Venture deal activity slowed in the second quarter with $34.3 billion invested across 2,197 deals,  a 23.2% decline in deal count compared to Q1 2020. While angel activity stayed relatively steady, completed seed deals saw a massive slowdown in Q2. It’s also unlikely that 2020 will see the third consecutive year of early-stage investments exceeding $40 billion, as investors reevaluate portfolios and shore up balance sheets for the quarters to come. Investors have also doubled down on portfolio companies as follow-on financing activity heavily outweighed first-time financings during Q2. Unexpectedly, there has not been a drop in late-stage activity with deal count tracking at a higher pace than 2019. 57 late-stage mega-deals ($100 million+) closed this quarter, bringing the total of late-stage mega-deals to more than 100 so far in 2020, easily on track to surpass the 175 closed in 2019. These high figures can be attributed to some sectors realizing newfound growth and capitalizing on capital availability while other sectors experienced disruption to growth and needed to raise unplanned rounds to weather the market downturn. Nontraditional participation did not subside through Q2, either, as corporate VCs participated in 26% of all US VC deals, a new high. PE firms have been investors in 13.9% of VC deals, a higher level than any previous full-year figure.

The full report will include the following components:

  • Executive summary
  • NVCA policy highlights
  • Overview
  • Angel, seed & first financings
  • Early-stage VC
  • Late-stage VC
  • Deals by region
  • Deals by sector
  • SVB: Adaptation and acceleration in VC
  • Female founders
  • Nontraditional investors
  • Certent: Venture in the COVID-19 era
  • Exits
  • Fundraising
  • Methodology

Fintech PR

Invitation to presentation of EQT AB’s Q1 Announcement 2024

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STOCKHOLM, April 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — EQT AB’s Q1 Announcement 2024 will be published on Thursday 18 April 2024 at approximately 07:30 CEST. EQT will host a conference call at 08:30 CEST to present the report, followed by a Q&A session.

The presentation and a video link for the webcast will be available here from the time of the publication of the Q1 Announcement.

To participate by phone and ask questions during the Q&A, please register here in advance. Upon registration, you will receive your personal dial-in details.

The webcast can be followed live here and a recording will be available afterwards.

Information on EQT AB’s financial reporting

The EQT AB Group has a long-term business model founded on a promise to its fund investors to invest capital, drive value creation and create consistent attractive returns over a 5 to 10-year horizon. The Group’s financial model is primarily affected by the size of its fee-generating assets under management, the performance of the EQT funds and its ability to recruit and retain top talent.

The Group operates in a market driven by long-term trends and thus believes quarterly financial statements are less relevant for investors. However, in order to provide the market with relevant and suitable information about the Group’s development, EQT publishes quarterly announcements with key operating numbers that are relevant for the business performance (taking Nasdaq’s guidance note for preparing interim management statements into consideration). In addition, a half-year report and a year-end report including financial statements and further information relevant for investors is published. Finally, EQT also publishes an annual report including sustainability reporting.

Contact
Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15
EQT Shareholder Relations, [email protected]

Rickard Buch, Head of Corporate Communications, +46 72 989 09 11
EQT Press Office, [email protected], +46 8 506 55 334

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/invitation-to-presentation-of-eqt-ab-s-q1-announcement-2024,c3956826

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https://mb.cision.com/Main/87/3956826/2712771.pdf

Invitation to presentation of EQT AB’s Q1 Announcement 2024

https://news.cision.com/eqt/i/eqt-ab-group,c3285895

EQT AB Group

 

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Kia presents roadmap to lead global electrification era through EVs, HEVs and PBVs

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  • Kia drives forward transformation into ‘Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider’
  • Roadmap enables Kia to proactively respond to uncertainties in mobility industry landscape, including changes in EV market
  • Company to expand EV line-up with more models; enhance HEV line-up to manage fluctuation in EV demand
    • Goal to sell 1.6 million EVs annually in 2030, introducing 15 models
    • PBV to play a key role in Kia’s growth, targeting 250,000 PBV sales annually by 2030 with PV5 and PV7 models
  • Kia to invest KRW 38 trillion by 2028, including KRW 15 trillion for future business
  • 2024 business guidance : KRW 101 tln in revenue with KRW 12 tln in operating profit; operating profit margin of 11.9% on sales of 3.2 million units globally
  • CEO reaffirms Kia’s commitment to ESG management

SEOUL, South Korea, April 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Kia Corporation (Kia) today shared an update on its future strategies and financial targets at its CEO Investor Day in Seoul, Korea.

Based on its innovative achievements in the years since the announcement of mid-to-long-term business initiatives, Kia is focusing on updating its 2030 strategy announced last year and further strengthening its business strategy in response to uncertainties across the global mobility industry landscape.

During the event, Kia updated its mid-to-long-term business strategy with a focus on electrification, and its PBV business. Kia reiterated its 2030 annual sales target of 4.3 million units, including 1.6 million units of electric vehicles (EVs). The 2030 4.3 million annual sales target is 34.4 percent higher than the brand’s 2024 annual goal of 3.2 million units.

The company also plans to become a leading EV brand by selling a higher percentage of electrified models among its total sales, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and battery EVs, projecting electrified model sales of 2.48 million units annually or 58 percent of Kia’s total sales in 2030.

“Following our successful brand relaunch in 2021, Kia is enhancing its global business strategy to further the establishment of an innovative EV line-up and accelerate the company’s transition to a sustainable mobility solutions provider,” said Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia. “By responding effectively to changes in the mobility market and efficiently implementing mid-to-long-term strategies, Kia is strengthening its brand commitment to the wellbeing of customers, communities, the global society, and the environment.”

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BioVaxys Technology Corp. Provides Bi-Weekly MCTO Status Update

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VANCOUVER, BC, April 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE: BIOV) (FRA: 5LB) (OTCQB: BVAXF) (the “Company“) is providing this bi-weekly update on the status of the management cease trade order granted on February 29, 2024 (the “MCTO“), by its principal regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC“), under National Policy 12-203 – Management Cease Trade Orders (“NP 12-203“), following the Company’s announcement on February 21, 2024 (the “Default Announcement“), that it was unable to file its audited annual financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2023, its management’s discussion and analysis of financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2023, its annual information form for the year ended October 31, 2023, and related filings (collectively, the “Required Annual Filings“). Under National Instrument 51-102, the Required Annual Filings were required to be made no later than February 28, 2024.

As a result of the delay in filing the Required Annual Filings, the Company was unable to file its interim financial statements for the three months ended January 31, 2024, its management’s discussion and analysis of financial statements for the three months ended January 31, 2024, and related filings (collectively, the “Required Interim Filings“). Under National Instrument 51-102, the Required Interim Filings were required to be made no later than April 1, 2024.

The Company anticipates filing the Required Annual Filings by April 30, 2024. The auditor of the Company requires additional time to complete its audit of the Company, including the Company’s recent acquisition of all intellectual property, immunotherapeutics platform technologies, and clinical stage assets of the former IMV Inc. that closed on February 16, 2024. In addition, the Company anticipates filing the Required Interim Filings immediately after the filing of the Required Annual Filings.

Except as herein disclosed, there are no material changes to the information contained in the Default Announcement. In addition, (i) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Required Annual Filings and/or Required Interim Filings is continuing, each of which will be issued in the form of a press release; (ii) the Company does not have any information at this time regarding any anticipated specified default subsequent to the default in filing the Required Annual Filings and Required Interim Filings; (iii) the Company is not subject to any insolvency proceedings; and (iv) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed.

About BioVaxys Technology Corp.

BioVaxys Technology Corp. (www.biovaxys.com), a biopharmaceuticals company registered in British Columbia, Canada, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patient lives with novel immunotherapies based on the DPX™ immune-educating technology platform and it’s HapTenix© ‘neoantigen’ tumor cell construct platform, for treating cancers, infectious disease, antigen desensitization, and other immunological fields. The Company’s clinical stage pipeline includes maveropepimut-S which is in Phase II clinical development for advanced Relapsed-Refractory Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) and platinum resistant ovarian cancer, and BVX-0918, a personalized immunotherapeutic vaccine using it proprietary HapTenix© ‘neoantigen’ tumor cell construct platform which is soon to enter Phase I in Spain for treating refractive late-stage ovarian cancer. The Company is also capitalizing on its tumor immunology know-how and creation of a unique library of T-lymphocytes & other datasets post-vaccination with its personalized immunotherapeutic vaccines to utilize predictive algorithms and other technologies to identify new targetable tumor antigens. BioVaxys common shares are listed on the CSE under the stock symbol “BIOV” and trade on the Frankfurt Bourse (FRA: 5LB) and in the US (OTCQB: BVAXF). For more information, visit www.biovaxys.com and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Signed “James Passin
James Passin, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +1 646 452 7054

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