In a letter to investors, Bolt says it is finalizing a $450M Series F at a $14B valuation; documents show the deal terms are bewildering and hard to believe
This is a pay-to-play VC deal for the ages. https://www.theinformation.com/ ... @erinkwoo [image] Sheel Mohnot / @pitdesi : Wild: Breslow back to Bolt as CEO, company raising $450M at a $14B valuation BUT it's got a ton of structure, including requiring existing investors to double their % stake to keep their liquidation preference Valuation shenanigans are the worst [image] Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin : This industry never disappoints. @erinkwoo https://www.theinformation.com/ ... LinkedIn: Kelly Goetsch : What?!? 🤯 “In the first nine months of 2023, Bolt's revenue totaled $19 million, essentially flat from the same period the year earlier, The Information reported earlier this year. …
NewcomerEric Newcomer
Context & Ripple Effects
Bolt had previously pursued multibillion-dollar valuations while raising large rounds. More recently, its reported revenue was essentially flat year over year in the first nine months of 2023, according to investor-reported revenue figures.
The new financing and Ryan Breslow’s planned CEO return arrive after reporting on past misleading-statement concerns and an SEC subpoena involving Breslow. The unusually structured round makes the headline valuation less informative than the rights attached to it.
First-order effects
Existing Bolt investors must increase their ownership to preserve liquidation preferences, putting immediate pressure on those unwilling or unable to fund more capital.
A $450M Series F, if completed on the reported terms, would provide Bolt capital and pair its recapitalization with Breslow’s return as CEO.
Second-order effects
The pay-to-play structure can split Bolt’s investor base between participants who retain downside protection and nonparticipants whose economic position is weakened, complicating future governance and financing decisions.
For prospective investors and commercial counterparties, the reported $14B valuation will need to be assessed alongside the preference stack and revenue trajectory rather than as a standalone measure of operating strength.
Third-order effects
If similarly structured rounds proliferate, late-stage private-company valuations will increasingly obscure the allocation of control and downside protection among investor classes.
This is a test of whether venture recapitalizations can preserve highly valued companies through slower growth; the result will depend on whether new capital translates into improved operating performance.
The trend: Late-stage venture financing is shifting from headline valuation setting toward structured recapitalizations that redistribute risk and investor rights.
This. Bolt. Deal. is. Absolutely. Bonkers.⚡ 1. 💰 $450M+ Series F investment “offer” at $14B pre-money valuation • $200M+ from an unnamed Abu Dhabi-based fund • $250M from “The London Fund” in “marketing capital and dollar credits” • Valuation jumps from $11B to $14B (6 [image]
Ryan Breslow is quite a grifter. “$250M in marketing dollars” lol I love how @EricNewcomer picked a photo of Ryan with “Forbes Under 30” background. He is in great company https://www.newcomer.co/...
Update: The actual deal proposed is even wilder Shareholders had <2 days to approve a pay-to-play deal; they'd need to invest more $ into the company or Bolt buys out their shares for next to nothing. Breslow would get a $2M bonus for returning as CEO, plus an additional $1M of
Bolt's Audacious Letter to Investors. The financial technology company told investors that it is raising at a $14 billion valuation. That's hard to believe. https://www.newcomer.co/...
For those curious, PayPal, worth $67 billion, is trading at less than 12x free cash flow. Bolt, worth $14 billion (??), made $19 million in revenue through the first nine months of 2023.
this story continues to unfold. new update at the end of this story: In another wrinkle, Brad Pamnani who was listed as representing Silverbear on the deal documents I saw, called me after this story ran to say that the investment bank Silverbear is no longer involved in the
@Jessicalessin reflects how we are all overly attached to “valuation” when deal terms in something like this matter a lot. the particulars matter here. I had the email when that story ran but no way i was going to run a factual story with the headline and i'm a newsletter with mu…
@EricNewcomer But the particulars were also in the story. No way this isn't news. The mere fact of the investor letter is news. You raise an interesting point about when a reporter can take a company's official communications as fact and when they can't. You are smart to point ou…
@EricNewcomer The story is really clear that the company laid out the terms in an investor letter and gets into the fact some are marketing credits etc, in line with your skepticism. So that's all spelled out. Headline could have said “in an investor letter” I suppose.
You know what, I take back everything bad I've ever said about Ryan Breslow. He is a once in a lifetime, generational grifter. I'm honestly just impressed at this point [image]
Taking a step back from this... Bolt's revenue was reported to be sub $30 million last year. This valuation is at a 400x multiple? And the company bought back shares from investors at $300m valuation less than six months ago
Btw pay attention to Newcomer. This “deal” indeed sounds ridiculous starting with how the only concrete part is someone offering “$250M worth of marketing credits” that is not a currency anyone sensible uses (and a currency anyone can print infinite amounts of!!)
I can't believe The Information headlined its story this morning saying “Bolt Near Deal to Raise $450 Million at $14 billion.” it's not clear that either number is real? this is the most bizarre deal i've ever seen. very hard to believe this company is being valued by anyone at
SCOOP: Bolt told investors that it's finalizing a deal to raise $450 million at a $14 billion valuation. Investors have to double their pro rata or the company can buy back 2/3 of their shares at $0.01 per share. And: Ryan Breslow is returning as CEO. https://www.theinformation.c…
Wild: Breslow back to Bolt as CEO, company raising $450M at a $14B valuation BUT it's got a ton of structure, including requiring existing investors to double their % stake to keep their liquidation preference Valuation shenanigans are the worst [image]