Xurpas taking over LA-based venture capital firm

MANILA, Philippines — Technology firm Xurpas Inc. has gained a foothold in the vibrant US technology investing arena with a deal to acquire Los Angeles-based venture capital management firm Wavemaker Partners US, one of the most active venture capital firms in Southern California.

As part of the deal, which will be paid in cash, the general partners of Wavemaker will also subscribe to a total of 1.7 billion Xurpas unissued shares for around 48 percent stake in the listed Philippine technology firm.

With over $210 million worth of assets under management (AUM), Wavemaker has invested in over 230 tech companies since its inception in 2003. It focuses on high impact tech areas such as enterprise software, data and intelligence platforms and other technology-enabled companies in digital media and consumer.

Some of the more prominent investments Wavemaker US has made the last several years include Mindbody, which went public and was eventually acquired by Vista Equity for $1.9 billion; StyleHaul, which was acquired by RTL for over $200 million; and, Viagogo, which has become the largest ticketing exchange outside of the US.

Through its various fund of fund investments, Wavemaker US has also benefited from several prominent companies such as: Cruise Automation which was acquired by GM for over $580 million; Twilio which has a market capitalization of over $12 billion; Zoom which recently went public and now supports a $19 billion market value and Dollar Shave Club which was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion.

“Wavemaker US has an outstanding team who has consistently outperformed the public markets in the last 16 years. This acquisition brings forward our vision of expanding Xurpas’ technology mandate and gives our shareholders access to promising venture-backed early-stage companies in the US and globally. Some of the most innovative and iconic companies of our time are venture-backed companies. Through Wavemaker US, Xurpas shareholders can now participate in the significant potential upside from investments in the early-stage technology space,” Xurpas chair Nix Nolledo said in a press statement.