Cloud-based software company Citrix is in advanced talks to buy workflow management company Wrike in a $2B deal. In 2018, Vista Equity Partners acquired a controlling stake in Wrike at a valuation of $800M.

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• Wrike has raised $26M in funding since it was founded in 2006 from investors including Bain Capital Ventures and Scale Venture Partners. Vista acquired Wrike as part of its Foundation Fund III, through which it raised $2.75B and has deployed $2.35B to date.
• The deal, if it goes through, would be Citrix’s biggest acquisition. The company’s share price has increased by 20% since the beginning of last year.
• Due to the increase in demand for software that helps with remote work and collaboration, Adobe acquired a similar workflow management software, Workfront, in a $1.5B deal in November 2020.

Dating app Bumble filed for its IPO on Friday. The company reported that it had 42 million monthly active users as of Q3 2020 and generated a $377M revenue at a loss of $84M for the nine months ended Sept. 2020.

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• In 2019, the Blackstone Group bought a majority stake in Bumble at a valuation of $3B. However, when the initial IPO plan was released in September last year, it was reported that Bumble could go public at a valuation of $6B-$8B. 
• The company reported that the U.S. online dating market is expected to grow from $2B in 2020 to $3.4B in 2025, with the global market to grow from $5.3B to $9B between the same period. The number of heterosexual couples meeting online has doubled from 20% in 2010 to 40% in 2017. During March last year, global online dating was up 82% and video and voice chat increased by 93%.
• Bumble said that it generates revenue primarily through in-app subscriptions and purchases; it had 2.4 million paying users YTD as of Sept. 2020. However, it mentioned that Apple’s new privacy feature, which requires users to opt-in for ad tracking, might significantly affect its ad revenue.
• Match Group, which offers dating apps in 40+ languages with a portfolio including Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and OkCupid, went public in 2015 at $13.50 a share. As of yesterday’s close, Match Group’s shares were trading at $150 — an increase of ~11x.
• The IPO filing comes after multiple companies, including Airbnb, DoorDash, and Affirm, saw around 100% first-day pop. Roblox, which delayed its IPO plans last year, said this month that it would go public through a direct listing. 

This story first appeared in Inside Business. You can read the full issue here.

Canadian convenience store chain Couche-Tard’s bid to merge with France’s Carrefour to become the world’s third-largest retail group was cut down by the French government. Within a day after the initial talks were announced, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has reportedly rejected the deal, stating that it puts thousands of jobs and food security at risk. 

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• According to Le Maire, Carrefour is a critical part of France’s food security and the country's largest employer with 105,000 employees.
• The Financial Times noted that, as a result of the deal cancellation, Carrefour may have to continue working on cutting costs and preventing sales decline. It added that, though France was the most attractive destination for foreign direct investment in Europe in 2019, the deal may have come at the wrong time with the election next year. 
• Last week, Couche-Tard’s stock price fell by 15% and Carrefour’s stock price went up by 20% on the deal announcement. However, Couche-Tard’s stock price has gone up and Carrefour’s share has gone down since the deal was canceled.  

Series A funding tracker: Last week, at least 48 companies raised more than $1B in Series A funding. 

Companies that raised above $25M:

• Mixuebingcheng is a beverage chain in China, and it raised $309M in funding.
• Atalanta Therapeutics develops treatment for neurogenerative diseases. It raised $110M.
• Indonesian investment platform Ajaib raised $25M in a funding round led by Horizons Ventures and Alpha JWC Ventures. 

Three oncology based startups raised significant Series A funding last week:

• Delfi Diagnostics raised $100M from OrbiMed. It develops technology to detect cancer early. Earli, which develops similar technology, raised $40M from Khosla Ventures. 
• Elucida Oncology raised $44M in funding, and it develops treatment for cancer. 

Today's funding:

• Expert networking platform proSapient raised $10M in Series A funding. 
• DecisionLink provides an enterprise value management platform and it raised $18.5M in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Accel.
• Indian wholesale online grocery marketplace Jumbotail raised $14.2M in Series B3 funding.
• Ahead of its IPO, U.K.-based food delivery firm Deliveroo raised $180M in a Series H funding round, at a valuation of more than $7B.
• HR Platform Personio raised $125M in a Series D funding round, at a valuation of $1.7B. Last year, the company was valued at $500M.

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• Israeli mobile gaming company Playtika raised $1.9B from its IPO, and the company will list in NASDAQ.
• Hike, a messaging app in India that is backed by investors including SoftBank and Tencent, has said that it is shutting down its messaging service. The company said that its new products will be announced soon. 
• Wells Fargo is in talks to sell its asset management business to a private consortium led by GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners LP. The bank manages around $607B in assets on behalf of its customers.
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