From Blackbird to Barrenjoey: The big winners from Eucalyptus’ billion dollar exit
The Hims & Hers acquisition of the telehealth startup will benefit VCs and advisers, but will also trigger the biggest staff payout in the Australian ecosystem to date.
When Hims & Hers completes its acquisition of Eucalyptus in a deal worth up to USD1.15 ($1.6 billion) billion, the returns will flow to an unusually wide group: the venture capitalists who backed it from a bedroom pitch, the angels who took a punt on an early round, and the employees who took equity over salary in an early stage company.
From early in its life, Eucalyptus rewarded staff with shares, and the company attracted a broad base of Australian angel investors along the way, as well as backing from some of our biggest funds.
The outcome, years in the making, is the kind of wealth creation event the local ecosystem has talked about building toward for a decade — and for employees holding vested shares, likely the largest ESOP payout in Australian startup history.
There are also a host of advisers who will generate sizeable fees (and kudos) from the transaction. Eucalyptus tapped Barrenjoey’s Justin Dwyer and Goldman Sachs in New York for advice, while Adam D’Andreti at G+T and PwC were also on the ticket. Daniel Scotti and Nicole Sloggett from MinterEllison acted for Hims & Hers.
Blackbird partner Nick Crocker, who led the seed round nine years ago, said the deal validated what the firm had believed from the very beginning.
