Pine Labs files for US IPO📊, Goyal targets 75 🦄 in 2022, Zynga sold for $12.7 Bn🤑
Pine Labs Seeks $500 Mn In US IPO, 75 startup unicorns this year said Piyush Goyal, Take-Two to buy Zynga for $12.7 billion, Funding Deals & more.
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Fintech Giant Pine Labs Seeks $500 Mn In US IPO📊
Pine Labs Pvt, an Asian digital payments provider backed by Sequoia India and Mastercard Inc., is moving ahead with preparations for a US listing and seeks to raise about $500 million.
The company has filed confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering in New York as soon as in the first half of this year. The Temasek and Mastercard-backed company's listing could give it a valuation of about $5.5 billion to $7 billion, according to the report.
Founded in 1998 to provide retail automation solutions to petroleum companies, Pine Labs now offers services and tools such as inventory management and payment terminals to merchants across Asia and the Middle East.
Last week, India's top lender State Bank of India made a $20 million investment in Pine Labs. Pine Labs raised $600 million last year, valuing it at $3.5 billion.
Let’s target 75 startup unicorns this year, says Piyush Goyal🦄
Piyush Goyal, the Union commerce and industry minister said on Monday that after a record-breaking 2021, in which 40-odd startups became unicorns, India’s startup ecosystem should look to create another 75 billion-dollar companies in 2022.
Addressing the virtual inaugural session of the Startup India Innovation Week, Goyal said the government has started a fund of funds for startups and also launched a seed fund scheme to boost the ecosystem.
He also said the government was “working actively” on the open network for digital commerce (ONDC), which he said would be a game-changer as it would help entrepreneurs save costs and build trust.
The ONDC is envisaged as a neutral platform on which buyers and sellers of goods online can transact regardless of the platforms on which they operate.
Goyal also lauded Indian startups for turning Covid “from a crisis into an opportunity” and said that 2021 would always be remembered as the year of unicorns. “The country has the third-largest number of unicorns in the world – 82 by the most recent count. Probably more than half became unicorns in the past 12 months,” he said.
Hot Shorts⚡
Lahori, a direct-to-consumer beverage maker, has raised $15 million from Belgium-based consumer-focused investor Verlinvest.
Zluri, a SaaS management platform Zluri, has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures with participation from existing investors Endiya Partners and Kalaari Capital.
Power Gummies, a dietary supplements startup, has raised $6 million in Series A funding led by 9Unicorns.
The ePlane Company, a flying taxi startup, has raised $5 million in pre-Series A funding led by Speciale Invest — a deep-tech venture capital firm — and Micelio — an EV and climate-focused fund.
Take-Two to buy Zynga for $12.7 billion in mobile gaming push🎮
Take-Two Interactive is buying Zynga, the creator of ‘Farmville’ for $12.7 billion ($11.04 billion excluding debt).
If it goes through, it will be the largest acquisition ever in the video game industry. The move is part of the company’s plan to tap into a surge in on-the-go gaming on smartphones.
Take-Two, also known for "Red Dead Redemption", offered $9.86 a share, or a 64% premium over Zynga’s last closing price. Zynga's shares rose about 50% in trading before the bell, while those of Take-Two fell nearly 9%.
The deal follows Electronic Arts' $2.4 billion acquisition of Glu Mobile last year as game studios look to build their mobile portfolios.
Many consumers, who were glued to their consoles during the peak of the pandemic, have now shifted to mobile gaming as they prefer to play on the go.
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