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Adventure travel company Lindblad Expeditions to raise $85 million

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Lindblad Expeditions, an adventure travel company known for its Alaska and Galapagos Island cruises, agreed to raise $85 million in convertible preferred stock from an investor group that includes MSD Partners and Durable Capital.

Why it matters: The deal came together in just two days and was 3x oversubscribed, Lindblad chairman Mark Ein tells Axios. This reflects growing investor faith that the travel market is poised for a COVID comeback, with pent-up demand only continuing to grow.

  • Other investors in the deal include Headlands Capital, Deep Field Asset Management, and Declaration Capital.

The bottom line: Ein says the new investment gives Lindblad runway to survive through the end of 2021, even were it not to launch a single cruise, but adds that it's been working on a coronavirus testing plan (both pre-travel and on-site) that it hopes will let it resume operations much sooner.

Go deeper

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
Aug 27, 2020 - Economy & Business

Scoop: Warby Parker now valued at $3 billion

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Warby Parker, a New York-based eyeglasses designer and retailer, raised $245 million in new funding at a $3 billion valuation, Axios has learned from a source familiar with the company's finances.

Between the lines: Warby had been widely viewed as a 2020 IPO candidate, but seems to have opted to remain private longer due to both the pandemic and some struggles for other direct-to-consumer personal product brands.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, Stef W. Kight
55 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus has inflamed global inequality

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

History will likely remember the pandemic as the "first time since records began that inequality rose in virtually every country on earth at the same time." That's the verdict from Oxfam's inequality report covering the year 2020 — a terrible year that hit the poorest, hardest across the planet.

Why it matters: The world's poorest were already in a race against time, facing down an existential risk in the form of global climate change. The coronavirus pandemic could set global poverty reduction back as much as a full decade, according to the World Bank.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Kevin McCarthy's rude awakening

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Kevin McCarthy is learning you can get torched when you try to make everyone happy, especially after an insurrection.

Why it matters: The House Republican leader had been hoping to use this year to build toward taking the majority in 2022, but his efforts to bridge intra-party divisiveness over the Capitol siege have him taking heat from every direction, eroding his stature both with the public and within his party.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow