Who got rich? IPOs produce big profits for Uber, Delta and tech VCs

On a day with more technology IPOs than available space on US exchanges, investors made billions of dollars in profits.

But the winners extended well beyond the Silicon Valley venture capital network.

Uber and Tencent joined SoftBank as major stakeholders in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and closed with a market capitalization of $ 67.8 billion. Delta Air Lines is a major investor in airport security provider Clear, which rang the opening bell on the NYSE.

Among venture companies, Insight Partners of New York had the biggest day, thanks to its $ 1.45 billion stake in cybersecurity software company SentinelOne, while Highland Capital owns more than $ 500 million worth of stock in Xometry. , a manufacturing market.

There is also a lot of money for private equity companies. Francisco Partners owns more than a quarter of LegalZoom, which it celebrated with the Nasdaq opening on Wednesday, and the ad tech company Integral Ad Science is majority-owned by Vista. Integral rang the closing bell for the Nasdaq.

While last week’s IPOs for software companies Confluent and Doximity primarily awarded well-known companies such as Benchmark, Index Ventures and Emergence Capital, this crop of deals underscores the thirst for technology across the investment universe. From acquisitions firms and mutual fund managers to large publicly traded companies, capital has been poured into the technology industry, which is playing a huge role in the broader economy.

Didi was by far the biggest debut on Wednesday, after the company raised $ 4.4 billion in its IPO. Its largest investor is SoftBank, which began buying shares in 2015 at an after-money valuation of $ 16.5 billion, according to PitchBook. The firm, mainly through its Vision Fund, accumulated a stake worth $ 13.7 billion at the close of operations.

Uber owns a $ 8.1 billion stake in Didi after ceding China to its rival in 2016 and selling its Chinese business in exchange for Didi shares. In late March, Uber valued its Didi stock at $ 5.9 billion.

Emil Michael, a former Uber chief commercial officer, tweeted earlier this week that Uber’s windfall was due to a $ 2 billion investment.

“Nearly all stakeholders were against our large investment in China and were relentlessly negative,” wrote Michael, in one of several tweets about the deal.

Chinese internet giant Tencent owns a $ 4.4 billion stake in Didi after investing in 2013. Apple and Alibaba also invested in later years, but each owns less than 5% of the company, so their stakes are not reveal in the leaflet.

Clear, whose biometric devices help passengers get through airport security lines, has a market capitalization of $ 5.9 billion after its shares jumped 29% to $ 40 on its NYSE debut.

T. Rowe Price is Clear’s largest outside investor, with a stake of $ 763 million at closing, followed by venture firm General Atlantic with $ 596 million.

Delta’s stock is valued at $ 331 million due to an investment linked to a partnership between the two companies. At the airline’s hub in Atlanta, Delta uses facial recognition systems so passengers can quickly board some international flights without having to show a boarding pass or passport. In 2017, Clear began operating at New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, paying a share of the revenue to Delta rather than paying the airport, according to the prospectus.

“Our customers tell us that their time is valuable, as is having a smooth and enjoyable airport experience with less hassle,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, in a press release at the time of the agreement in 2016. “We look forward to what this association will bring to our clients.”

SentinelOne was up 21% on Wednesday after the company raised $ 1.2 billion in its IPO. Insight Partners, which is in the midst of a winning streak of Israel’s Monday.com and WalkMe IPOs, is the largest shareholder. Tiger Global, the investment firm best known for late-stage technology deals, has a $ 1.1 billion stake.

Xometry, which provides technology for on-demand manufacturing, had the biggest pop among IPOs on Wednesday, nearly doubling to $ 87.39 from its $ 44 asking price.

The company closed the day with a market capitalization of $ 3.7 billion. Highland Capital, which operates in the Bay Area and Boston, led an investment of $ 8.8 million with a valuation of $ 40 million in 2015. T. Rowe Price led the most recent private round last year with a valuation of around $ 550 million.

Xometry CEO Randy Altschuler told CNBC’s “The Exchange” that an initial public offering was the best option for the company, even when there are more ways to go public, such as a direct listing or through a trading company. special purpose acquisition, or SPAC.

“We were very excited about our debut today, and we thought, hey, let’s build a long-term investor book and build a great company,” he said.

Two 2018 private equity deals also paid off on Wednesday.

Francisco Partners nearly quadrupled his money at LegalZoom, less than three years after the firm invested $ 300 million in a deal that valued the legal services site at $ 2 billion. After the stock rose 35% on Wednesday to $ 37.85, LegalZoom’s market capitalization jumped to $ 7.3 billion and Francisco’s stake reached $ 1.1 billion.

Vista’s performance in Integral Ad Science isn’t that spectacular in percentage terms, but the total dollar amount is even higher. In June 2018, Vista bought the majority of the ad tech company in a transaction that values ​​the business at $ 835 million, according to PitchBook.

Shares of Integral Ad rose 14% to $ 20.58, giving the company a market capitalization of $ 3.1 billion. Vista’s 70% stake is now worth more than $ 1.94 billion.

LOOK: Xometry CEO on his IPO debut