| Investors say Covid-19 fallout will be worse next year, but there are reasons to be optimistic about 2021
Vaccine developments continue to forge ahead, as the Food and Drug Administration in the US is expected to make a decision on Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine soon.
Digital currency exchange Coinbase filed for an IPO, while bitcoin reached a new high this week.
Meanwhile, Airbnb, which raised USD1 billion from private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners earlier this year, saw its share price surge following its IPO, putting the company's valuation slightly in excess of USD100 billion at one point.
EQT Ventures and Creandum co-led a EUR1.5 million investment round into Kive, a company that enables creatives to collect visual assets in a library self-organising through machine-learning. The deal marks Creandum's – which was the first backer of Spotify – 100th investment.
According to a study by HYCM, around two thirds of investors believe the fallout from Covid-19 will be worse in 2021 than it has been this year. The study revealed that once a vaccine is available, 43 per cent of the investors surveyed say they plan to invest into those sectors worst-affected by the pandemic, such as travel and hospitality, while 58 per cent of investors want to see the Brexit deadline pushed back from 31 December to allow for more negotiating time following the pandemic fallout.
There are several reasons to be optimistic about 2021 however, according to Jeffrey Stevenson, managing partner at private investment firm VSS, as vaccines are starting to be made available and are expected to save lives, raising hopes that the US economy is poised to reopen next year. Also, the US presidential election has largely been decided which has taken some uncertainty out of the markets.
These positive developments have already helped stimulate the resurgence of private equity in the third quarter of 2020, when USD148 billion in transactions occurred that surpasses last year’s third quarter total by 10 percent, according to a new survey by Mergermarket and Dechert, writes Stevenson.
James Williams's profile piece on BlackRock Alternative Specialists’ David Lomas explores his view on how its three-pronged approach to deal sourcing makes it well positioned to support private market investors heading into 2021.
Don't forget, voting is now underway for the Private Equity Wire European Awards 2021, which will be unveiled and celebrated at an exclusive virtual ceremony and industry networking event to be held on Thursday 25 March. Cast your vote here.
And finally, the Private Equity Wire newsletter team is taking its customary year-end break, and will resume business as usual on Monday 4 January. We will continue to update our websites with the most important industry news during the holiday period.
Happy holidays!
Karin Wasteson
Editor, Private Equity Wire
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