| | | | | | Happy Friday, Term Sheet readers. | | Eyewear company Warby Parker is looking to raise $75 million in Series E funding, Cheddar first reported. The new funding is expected to value Warby at more than $1.2 billion, which was its last valuation back in 2015. | | | | . |  | | . | | | | Many people have speculated that Warby would go public soon, but this fundraise confirms the company's plans to stay private for now. In total, Warby has approximately raised $216 million in venture funding from investors including T. Rowe Price, General Catalyst, and Lerer Hippeau. | | Here's one question: If Warby's not seeking an IPO in the near future, could it be on Amazon's radar as a potential acquisition target? It's certainly not a far-fetched idea. An acquisition by Amazon could improve Warby's distribution and reduce shipping costs while giving Amazon the ability to increase touchpoints with existing customers. According to FourSquare data, 80% of Warby customers shop at Whole Foods (recently bought by Amazon), so that's also something to consider. | | ...MEANWHILE, things aren't looking so good for traditional retailers. Toys 'R' Us is considering closing all of its U.S. stores. The retailer is making preparations for a liquidation of its bankrupt U.S. operations after failing to find a buyer or reach a debt restructure with lenders. As Forerunner Ventures' Kirsten Green (an early investor in Warby) recently said, "To compete, you have to deliver more and you have deliver better. I think that's an opportunity for founders looking to start companies, but it'll be a challenge for others in more traditional retail." Ain't that the truth. | | WEEKEND READS: Fortune was recognized by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for some of this year's best business journalism. One of the winning stories was "The Billion-Dollar Loophole," an investigation into the Republican tax plan revealing that many of the biggest tax-avoidance schemes were left untouched—and a cottage industry has sprung up to cash in on one of them. Read all of the winning stories here. | | | | . | | |  | | | | | | THE LATEST FROM FORTUNE... | | | | | | • Teamworks, a Durham, N.C.-based provider of collaboration software for athletic organizations, raised $15.3 million Series B funding. General Catalyst led the round. • HubHaus, an Anaheim, Calif.-based co-living startup, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Social Capital led the round. • Mad Paws, an Australia-based startup that offers pet care services, raised $5 million in funding. Qantas led the round. • Smarter Sorting, an Austin, Texas-based reuse solution for household hazardous waste, raised $5 million in seed funding. Investors include RTP Ventures. • MinerEye, an Israel-based data privacy and protection startup, raised $3 million in funding. Investors include Awz HLS Fund I. • Bitt.com, a Barbados-based blockchain-based digital payment provider, raised $3 million in funding. Investors include Medici Ventures. • Luther Systems, a London-based blockchain startup, raised $1.5 million in funding. Investors include Firstminute Capital. • Mojio Inc, a Vancouver-based connected car platform, raised funding of an undisclosed amount. Investors include Iris Capital and Telus Ventures. | | . | | | | | | HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES DEALS | | • Cyteir Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of synthetic lethal therapies that treat cancer and autoimmune disease, raised $29 million in Series B funding. Venrock led the round, and was joined by investors including Celgene, Lightstone Ventures and DROIA Oncology Ventures. • Metactive Medical Inc, an Olathe, Kansas-based developer of products for the treatment of neurovascular, peripheral vascular and structural heart diseases, raised $1.2 million in Series A funding. Investors include Mid-America Angels and Serra Ventures. | | . | | | | | • Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Blackstone Group LP are working on a joint $10 billion bid for BHP Billiton Plc's (LSE:BLT) U.S. shale assets, according to Sky News. Read more. • Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NasdaqCM:ENT) agreed to a significant investment from Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. Financial terms weren't disclosed. • Chatham Capital invested $9 million in Muse Paintbar, a New York-based operator of a restaurant and bar that provides painting instructions. • Kimble Applications, a U.K.-based provider of a professional services automation solution for IT and management consultancies, raised funding of an undisclosed amount from Accel-KKR. • Maxcess International Inc, a portfolio company of Bertram Capital, acquired Componex Corp, an Edgerton, Wisc.-based provider of aluminum dead shaft idler rolls. Financial terms weren't disclosed. • KEEN Growth Capital acquired a stake in DAHlicious, a Tewksbury, Mass.-based maker of organic India-style lassi and yogurt. Financial terms weren't disclosed. • Comvest Partners acquired Engage2Excel, a Statesville, N.C.-based provider of employee recognition, sales incentives, talent acquisition and consumer loyalty solutions and services. Financial terms weren't disclosed. • Loftware Inc, a portfolio company of Riverside Partners, acquired Gap Systems, a U.K.-based provider of SaaS-based artwork management solutions. Financial terms weren't disclosed. | | . | | | | | • China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co Ltd is in talks to acquire Heineken NV's China business in a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion, according to Reuters. Read more. | | . | | | | | • Hua Medicine, a China-based drug developer, is planning to raise at least $400 million in an initial public offering, according to Reuters. Read more. | | . | | | | | Norwest Equity Partners sold Gopher Resource, an Eagan, Mich.-based lead recycling, plastics production, household hazardous company, to Energy Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed. | | . | | | | | ORIX Capital Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised $160.3 million for its debut fund, according to an SEC filing. Phyto Partners, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based venture capital firm, raised $100 million for its second cannabis fund, Phyto II. Mars Petcare, a pet food distributor, raised $100 million for a new venture capital fund, Companion Fund, in partnership with Digitalis. | | . | | | | | | | | | | | This message has been sent to you because you are currently subscribed to Term Sheet
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