The FGB Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer and challenger brands. In today’s edition: Uber set to support Lime; Bought by Many raises £80m to disrupt pet insurance; and N26 extends its Series D round. 

Uber set to support Lime

Uber is reportedly in talks to lead an emergency fundraising round of USD$170m in the scooter startup Lime, according to a new report by the Information.

The news comes as the coronavirus outbreak has decimated the startup's business. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines have deterred the startup's usual source of customers, forcing it to consider this emergency round as early as March.

Uber, already an existing investor in the scooter-sharing startup, is said to be putting in USD$85m of its own money to help Lime increase its runway. 

However, the terms of the deal will hit the scooter startup hard. The round will reportedly slash Lime's valuation to USD$510m, a 79% slide from the startup's valuation of USD$2.4bn in 2018.

The round also grants Uber the opportunity to buy Lime at a set price between 2022 and 2024, the report said. In return, Uber would "transfer" its existing bike and scooter-sharing business to Lime. Uber last invested in Lime back in 2018, in a Series C round worth USD$335.1m. 

Bought by Many raises £80m to disrupt pet insurance

Bought by Many, a British pet insurer which is among the industry’s fastest-growing players has raised nearly £80m from the sale of shares to investors led by a prominent private equity firm, FTV Capital.

Bought By Many insures more than 200,000 pets, and recently expanded from the UK to Sweden, with the latest capital injection expected to facilitate further international growth. It has launched a podcast called Dogcast, which is hosted by the sports broadcaster Clare Balding.

Bought By Many was set up in an attempt to disrupt the insurance market by using technology and social media to offer bespoke and competitively priced policies across a range of sectors.

The company launched into the pet insurance market in 2017, and has built its profile through a multimillion pound marketing budget.

In addition to mainstream products, it offers specialised insurance for exotic pets through ExoticDirect, the UK's leading provider, covering more than 12,000 birds, mammals and reptiles. Bought By Many employs more than 150 people at offices in London, Surrey and Birmingham.

N26 extends its Series D round

Fintech startup N26 now has a proper funding war chest to face the economic downturn. The Berlin-based startup has extended its Series D round with another USD$100m of funding at the same valuation of USD$3.5bn. In total, N26 has raised USD$570m as part of its Series D round.

N26’s Series D seems like a never-ending list of big numbers. In January 2019, the company announced a USD$300m Series D at a USD$2.7bn valuation. In July 2019, the company added USD$170m at a USD$3.5bn valuation. And now, here comes another USD$100m.

Like most challenger banks, N26 generates revenue from premium subscriptions, interchange fees, and third-party and in-house financial products that induce fees, such as overdraft and credit. With today’s new funding, the company wants to double down on its most promising markets — Europe, the US and Brazil.

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