Deal Flow – VC, PE, and Amazon M&A – BETA Blog and Website

Still working on the future beta and one day launching a true great blog! However, deal flow news is interesting.

Amazon buying Whole Foods for $13.7B

Amazon surprised markets this morning by announcing plans to acquire Whole Foods Market, the grocery chain known for organic products and high prices. Under terms of the agreement, Amazon will pay $42 per share, a 27 percent premium over Thursday’s closing price, in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including Whole Foods debt.

Slack said to be raising $500M (amazing they can)

Investors with a spare $500 million have decided it makes sense to give it to Slack. The group work messaging platform is reportedly in talks to raise a half-billion-dollar round at a $5 billion post-money valuation, according to media reports. Previously, it was reported that Slack is also fielding acquisition offers from Amazon and others.

MORE READ MEAT – VC Deals:

• Mobike, a Shanghai-based on-demand bike rental company, raised $600 million in Series E funding, according to TechCrunch. Tencent led the round, and was joined by Sequoia, TPG, and Hillhouse Capital, BOCOM International, ICBC International, and Farallon Capital.

• Slack, a San Francisco-based team communication platform, is raising $500 million in funding at a $5 billion post-money valuation, according to a report in Recode. Read more.

• Scopely, a Los Angeles developer of mobile games, raised $60 million in a Series C funding. Revolution Growth led the round, and was joined by Greenspring Associates, Sands Capital Ventures, Cross Creek Advisors, and Pritzker Group Venture Capital.

• Conviva, a Foster City, Calif. Intelligence control platform, raised $40 million in funding at a roughly $300 million valuation, according to TechCrunch. Investors include Australia’s sovereign wealth fund Future Fund, NEA, Foundation Capital, and Time Warner Investments. Read more.

• Entelo, a San Francisco cloud-based software company, raised $20 million in Series C funding. U.S. Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by Battery Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Correlation Ventures.

• Ridibooks, a Seoul e-book store, raised a $20 million in Series C funding, according to TechCrunch. Investors include Praxis Capital Partners, ShinHan Finance Investment, and Company K Partners. Read more.

• Dispatch, a Boston enterprise technology company, raised $12 million in Series A funding. Grandbanks Capital and ServiceMaster led the round, with participation from Assurant, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Promus Ventures, Recruit Strategic Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Huff Capital, and Ray Lane.

• Atrium LTS, a legal services startup founded by Justin Kan, raised $10.5 million in funding, according to TechCrunch. Read more.

• Common Networks, a San Francisco wireless internet service provider, raised $7 million in Series A funding from Eclipse Ventures and Lux Capital.

• Goodera, a Bengaluru, India-based company that connects businesses with nonprofits, raised $5.5 million in Series A funding. Investors include Nexus Venture Partners and Omidyar Network.

• Covr Financial Technologies, a Boise, Idaho digital personal insurance platform, raised $5 million in funding from Nyca Partners, Commerce Ventures, Connectivity Capital Partners, and Contour Venture Partners.

• ZineOne, a Milpitas, Calif. operator of an event driven interactions platform, raised $2.5 million in funding. Golden Seeds Angels and Hyderabad Angels led the round.

• Voiceitt, an Israeli developer of apps for people with speech impairments, raised $2 million in funding. Investors include Cahn Capital, Amit Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, Quake Capital Partners, Dreamit Ventures, and Buffalo Angels.

• Codota, an Israeli provider of workflow services for developers, raised $2 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures, according to TechCrunch. Read more.

Happy Networking & Investing,

JD Morris