Football for sale – Precision medicine – The Hundred – Sponsorship intelligence platforms – Virtual digestive care – Web3 sports – Energy-limiting conditions – Alcohol-free craft beer
Deal flow: In this week’s newsletter we have 37 deals across sports & health, from seed, via growth stage, to pre-IPO.
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Skin In The Game is an FCA regulated investment syndicate connecting investors with groundbreaking startups in sports & health.
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Standouts
⚽️ Liverpool and Manchester United are up for sale – The appearance of both clubs in the estate agent’s window should help clear up one of English football’s oldest debates: which is the more appealing to buy?
👨💻 SaaS Platform SponsorUnited Raises $35 Million Series A Funding Round – Partnership intelligence platform SponsorUnited has raised a $35 million Series A funding round led by Spectrum Equity, alongside other investors such as Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry and San Diego Padres co-owner Ron Fowler.
🏏 Private equity firm ‘makes £400m offer’ for 75% stake in the Hundred – The offer has reportedly come from Bridgepoint Group, a London-listed buyout firm.
🇺🇸 Houston health tech startup Aim7 raises $1.3M in seed funding from big names – The raise was led by angel investors, including Brent Smolik, former CEO of Noble Midstream Partners, former president and COO of Noble Energy Corp. and a current Marathon Oil board member; former Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens; and Houston influencers Ted and Dede Raad.
⛓ RealFevr Raises €10 Million to Build the Ultimate Web3 GameFi Sports Ecosystem – The round was led by global sports investor ADvantage, with participation from Semapa Next, Shilling Capital Partners, APEX Capital, and the professional football player Sérgio Oliveira.
Best of the rest
⚽️ American investment fund could take PSG minority stake – The unnamed firm is reportedly hoping to land a 10 to 15% stake in the Ligue 1 club.
👨⚕️ Ayble seeded $4.6M for virtual digestive care – The startup, which is tackling a large but historically underserved patient group he belongs to, debuted Wednesday with $4.6 million in seed funding co-led by Upfront Ventures and M13, Jactel tells Axios exclusively.
💵 Sports SPACs Battling Bear Market With $16 Billion to Spend – There are still 62 sports-related blank check companies with $15.9 billion in capital seeking deals, according to Sportico data.
🤖 Sequoia India’s Surge backs healthtech startup RedBrick AI in $4.6M funding – RedBrick AI co-founder and CEO Shivam Sharma said the startup helps make annotations up to 60% faster using its configurable workflow system that works with medical imagery such as CT scans, X-rays, MRIs and ultrasound.
🎮 Temasek's Vertex Leads $4M Investment in CARV to Build Gaming Credential and Data Infrastructure – CARV has raised $4M in seed funding led by Vertex, Temasek Holding's venture capital arm with participation from EVOS (ATTN Group), SNACKCLUB (Loud Gaming), Infinity Ventures Crypto YGG SEA, UpHonest Capital, Lyrik Ventures, Lintentry Foundation, PAKADAO, 7UpDAO, Angel Investor Aliaksandr Hadzilin (NEAR's co-founder), among others.
⚽ 777 Buys Controlling Stake of Bundesliga’s Hertha BSC – The boutique investment firm 777 Partners has reached an agreement to acquire a controlling stake of Hertha BSC, one of the oldest soccer clubs in Germany.
🇺🇸 Visibile raises – The startup, which focuses on helping people with energy-limiting conditions like Long Covid and ME, closed a $1m pre-seed fundraise from Octopus Ventures, Calm/Storm Ventures, Hustle Fund, along with the support of some angel investors.
🏟 CBS Arena snapped up by Mike Ashley following Wasps administration – The 32,609 seat stadium is the home of English second-tier soccer outfit Coventry City and counted Wasps as its main tenant until the rugby union club entered administration in October.
💵 Precision medicine startup's $178M round – Precision medicine startup FogPharma has raised $178 million as it prepares to launch its first human trial within the next year.
🧫 Seattle vaccine startup taking on pharma giant GSK with shingles shot raises $26M – The funding comes on the heels of $60 million raised in February to advance the company’s clinical trial for its shot against shingles, a painful condition caused by reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox.
🇫🇷 Schiller, Falk Sports SPAC Finds Deal With French Mobile Payments Firm – The special purpose acquisition company formed by long-time sports business executive Harvey Schiller and superagent David Falk has signed a deal to bring a French mobile payments firm public.
👨💼 Wellness startup dealing with male menopause raises ₹5.5 crore in pre-seed funding – Bonatra is a men’s wellness doctor-led IoMT startup (Internet of Medical Things) focused on managing male menopause and chronic diseases in men.
💰 KB Partners Closes Early-Stage Tech Fund With $127 Million – Venture Capital firm KB Partners closed one of sports’ most prodigious early-stage tech funds with an investment total of $127 million that so far spans 10 startups such as the 3-on-3 hockey league 3ICE, betting-centric nVenue and gravity sportswear Omorpho.
🇬🇧 London-based Here We Flo picks up €1.9 million to bring a cultural shift to period care and sexual health – Period care and sexual health brand Here We Flo has just raised about €1.9 million (£1.7 million) to bring sustainability and body-positivity to women’s health. The London-headquartered startup now plans to expand internationally.
🇦🇺 AFL agrees deal in-principle for Tasmania expansion team – The Australian Football League (AFL) has reached an in-principle agreement with the Tasmanian government on commercial terms covering the state’s bid for an expansion team.
🇪🇸 Ifeel raises €10 million to help employers look after their workers' wellbeing – Madrid-based emotional wellbeing service ifeel has raised €10 million from investors led by UNIQA Ventures, the venture capital arm of UNIQA Insurance Group.
🤖 DHS Awards Funds to Volt Athletics for Physical Well-Being AI Software – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced a Phase 1 Other Transaction award of $199,730 to Volt Athletics, a Seattle-based company, to further develop its Artificial Intelligence powered software system, “Volt,” that will help the DHS workforce improve its overall health and wellness, especially for personnel who operate in high-stress and dangerous conditions.
🚴♀️ Indoor cycling brand Muov launches crowdfunding campaign, to add to £2.1 million investment – Muov has launched a crowdfunding campaign, in the hopes of adding to the £2.1 million investment already raised this year.
🏠 DispatchHealth grabs $330M in equity and debt – DispatchHealth, which provides urgent in-home care, has raised $330 million in equity and debt, Home Health Care News reported. Optum Ventures led the equity funding and the debt portion was led by Silicon Valley Bank and K2 HealthVentures.
🍿 Clio Snacks Announces Capital Raise – Clio Snacks, a unique, vertically integrated brand that sits at the intersection of yogurt and refrigerated snacking, has closed a strategic capital raise led by long-term partner Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG) and other key partners, including professional tennis player Maria Sharapova and NBA player Jayson Tatum.
🍺 Big Drop crowdfunds – The alcohol-free craft brewer raised £2,278,653 from 365 investors. It already has listings in Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose, as well a wide range of on-trade listings, including with one of the country's biggest pub companies, Mitchells & Butlers.
🤾♀️ TeamSnap Acquires LeagueSide to Bring On-Field Sponsorship Opportunities to its Technology Platform – TeamSnap, the leading provider of sports management software and the online community for everything youth sports, acquired LeagueSide, America's leading community sports sponsorship platform.
🧠 Mental Health Provider SonderMind Acquires Integrated Neuroscience Company Total Brain – Total Brain’s application and research will allow SonderMind to expand the ecosystem of where people engage with mental health–on their own, at work, or with a therapist–at every stage of their personal journey.
🇮🇳 Investors bet big on India's e-sports scene as gamers seek fame and fortune – While still in its infancy compared with the US, China and Japan, investors are betting on huge growth in Indian e-sports — powered by one of the world’s youngest populations and cheap mobile data.
👩💼 Biocodex Group strengthens its position in the US market with the acquisition of Hilma – Iocodex, an expert in microbiota and women's health, has acquired a majority stake in Hilma, a start-up specializing in natural remedies in the United States.
🤩 Kristen Bell’s This Saves Lives Acquired By Good Worldwide For Under $5 Million – B-corp social impact company Good Worldwide has acquired This Saves Lives, a consumer goods business cofounded by actress Kristen Bell in 2013 with a mission to end early childhood acute malnutrition.
⚽️ Vincere Capital Completes Multimillion Dollar Investment In Phoenix Rising FC – The Vincere Capital investment news comes just days after Phoenix Rising FC announced plans to relocate its stadium in the City of Phoenix at the intersection of 38th St. and Washington. Rising intends to host its 2023 home opener and season at the new site beginning this Spring.
🇺🇸 Resilience Lab Raises $15M to Address the US Systemic Mental Health Access Crisis – Resilience Lab, a mental health-tech company enabling communities of clinicians to collaborate to improve patient access and outcomes, raised $15 million in Series A funding co-led by Viewside Capital Partners and Morningside, with the support of 20 health and technology entrepreneurs.
👩🌾 Freight Farms Raises $17.5M Series B3 to Address Access and Sustainability in the Food System Through Container Farming – Freight Farms, the world's leading manufacturer of container farms, closed a $17.5M Series B3 funding round co-led by Aliaxis SA, a world leader enabling access to water and energy through inventive fluid management solutions; and Ospraie Ag Science, a leading investor in cutting-edge AgTech companies providing smarter, more sustainable agriculture solutions.
🕶 SunGod crowdfunds closes to $3M – SunGod is a performance eyewear brand challenging the $158bn eyewear industry with a mission to See Better.
👵 Nymbl Science Closes $12 Million Series B Funding Round Led by Cobalt Ventures – As a leader in scalable, digital fall prevention for older adults, Nymbl Science has closed of a $12 million Series B funding round. Cobalt Ventures led the round, alongside co-lead Outcomes Collective Growth Capital, and with additional participation from 450 Ventures.
Some tweets
Albachiara Sport&Entertainment @SaglAlbachiara – @flacqua @gilesmorgan71 " if ever something signalled a top, it was Fenway putting Liverpool Football Club up for sale. Glazer will now be wearing a sandwich board outside Aramco. " Gog last week. What a call from Grant Williams…lnkd.in/eXRMwy5x
P.S.
Loving the World Cup so far, and great to see my 4-year old show an interest in football after an unrelenting period of Paw Patrol and Dinotrux!
Yours in sports,
Ed
—
Ed Rhys
Co-Founder / Skin In The Game
skininthegamegroup.com
Join our syndicate
If you find this newsletter useful, consider joining our FCA regulated investment syndicate connecting investors with groundbreaking startups in sports & health.
We enable angels to co-invest with leading funds, family offices & corporate venture, providing access to the very best deals.
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