Jul 31, 2018

LegalZoom now valued above $2 billion

LegalZoom today announced that it's the subject of a $500 million secondary investment that Axios has learned values the legal services company north of $2 billion.

Why it matters: Some of the new investors are mutual funds, which suggests an IPO could be in LegalZoom's future. The company previously filed in 2012 but never got lift-off.

Francisco Partners and GPI Capital co-led the new investment, with Franklin Templeton and Neuberger Berman also participating.
Permira, which acquired a control stake in 2014 for around $200 million, is selling into the round but will remain LegalZoom's largest single shareholder.
In 2014 I reported that around 30% of LegalZoom's revenue came from subscription services, but Permira wanted that figure to top 50%. It now has.

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Ben Geman

The new oil-cutting pact will help the market but hardly rescue it

The new OPEC-Russia agreement to steeply cut production should help the oil market avoid a complete meltdown, but it's nowhere near enough to undo the damage from the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts say.

Why it matters: It's the first major coordinated response to the pandemic that's creating an unprecedented collapse in global oil demand and has pushed prices to very low levels.

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Jeff Tracy

Premier League players launch fund to help U.K. medical workers

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Premier League players have launched an initiative called #PlayersTogether, which will funnel part of their salaries to the National Health Service to support the U.K.'s front-line workers during the coronavirus crisis.

Why it matters: This decision came at the conclusion of a protracted argument between players, clubs and even government officials over who should bear the brunt of lost revenue in the midst of the pandemic.

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Mike Allen, Alayna Treene

GOP worries Trump has only weeks to sharpen coronavirus response

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Republicans are increasingly concerned not only about President Trump’s daily briefings but also his broader plan to ease the nation out of the virus crisis and back to work. This concern is acute — and spreading.

Why it matters: Trump can easily address the briefing worries by doing fewer, but the lackluster bounce-back planning is what worries Republicans most.

Go deeper3 hours ago - Politics & Policy