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Client Highlights
Firm Advises Underwriters on MongoDB’s Upsized Public Offering
On June 29, 2021, MongoDB, Inc., the leading, modern general purpose database platform, announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 2,500,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a price to the public of $365.00 per share. MongoDB estimates that the net proceeds from the sale of the shares will be approximately $889.0 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by MongoDB. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented the underwriters in the offering, which closed on Friday, July 2, 2021.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. Drexel Hamilton, Guzman & Company, Siebert Williams Shank, and Tigress Financial Partners acted as co-managers for the offering.
The Wilson Sonsini team advising the underwriters in the transaction includes Mike Labriola, Megan Baier, Mark Bass, Hyo Min Kim, and Norman Zhang.
For more information, please see MongoDB’s press release.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. Drexel Hamilton, Guzman & Company, Siebert Williams Shank, and Tigress Financial Partners acted as co-managers for the offering.
The Wilson Sonsini team advising the underwriters in the transaction includes Mike Labriola, Megan Baier, Mark Bass, Hyo Min Kim, and Norman Zhang.
For more information, please see MongoDB’s press release.
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Turntide on $225 Million Financing
On June 30, 2021, Turntide Technologies, the company responsible for the Smart Motor SystemTM, announced the completion of $225 million in convertible note financing, with investments from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Monashee Investment Management LLC, and JLL Spark, the strategic investment arm of commercial real estate services firm JLL. Additional investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Captain Planet LP, and Suvretta Capital Management LLC. This investment brings Turntide's total funding to $400 million. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Turntide in the transaction.
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Kitopi on $415 Million Series C Funding Round
On July 1, 2021, Kitopi, the world’s leading managed cloud kitchen platform, announced the completion of a $415 million in Series C funding round. The financing was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Chimera, DisruptAD, B. Riley, Dogus Group, Next Play Capital, and Nordstar. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Kitopi on the financing.
Founded in January 2018 and headquartered in Dubai, Kitopi—which stands for “Kitchen Uptopia”—currently operates more than 60 kitchens across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The company said it will use the new funding to fuel its continued expansion within the Middle East and support entry to new markets such as Southeast Asia. Kitopi will also continue to innovate and expand its tech stack, grow its strategic restaurant partnerships, and build a best-in-class team across the organization.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Kitopi on the financing includes Mark Holloway, Mike Lin, Sean Semmler, Anthony Malone, Derek Wallace, and Matt Gorman.
For more information, please see Kitopi’s announcement and message from the company’s CEO.
Founded in January 2018 and headquartered in Dubai, Kitopi—which stands for “Kitchen Uptopia”—currently operates more than 60 kitchens across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The company said it will use the new funding to fuel its continued expansion within the Middle East and support entry to new markets such as Southeast Asia. Kitopi will also continue to innovate and expand its tech stack, grow its strategic restaurant partnerships, and build a best-in-class team across the organization.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Kitopi on the financing includes Mark Holloway, Mike Lin, Sean Semmler, Anthony Malone, Derek Wallace, and Matt Gorman.
For more information, please see Kitopi’s announcement and message from the company’s CEO.
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Gympass on $220 Million Series E
On June 29, 2021, Gympass, an exercise and corporate wellness unicorn that originated in Brazil, announced it has raised $220 million in a Series E financing. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Gympass in the transaction.
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Codex DNA on $122 Million IPO
On June 22, 2021, Codex DNA announced the closing of its initial public offering of 7,666,664 shares of common stock, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to 999,999 additional shares of common stock, at a public offering price of $16.00 per share. The aggregate gross proceeds to Codex DNA from the offering were approximately $122.7 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. All of the shares in the offering were offered by Codex DNA. The company's common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 18, 2021, under the ticker symbol "DNAY."
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Secures Victory for DoNotPay in TCPA Litigation
On June 24, 2021, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted DoNotPay’s motion to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented DoNotPay in the matter.
DoNotPay is a legal services chatbot that advertises itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer” and helps people challenge bank account fees, obtain green cards and visas, sue over data breaches, collect money owed from consumer class action settlements, and carry out dozens of other legal actions. Mathew Hufnus, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, had alleged that DoNotPay sent him a text message without prior express written consent, and filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California accusing the company of sending unsolicited advertising texts in violation of the TCPA.
According to the court’s order, to state a claim under the TCPA, the plaintiff must allege that DoNotPay sent messages using an “automatic telephone dialing system” (autodialer) within the meaning of the TCPA. However, the court found that because DoNotPay only contacts phone numbers specifically provided by consumers during DoNotPay’s registration process, and not random or sequential phone numbers, it does not qualify as an autodialer under the TCPA. As a result, the court said, “Hufnus’s claim thus fails as a matter of law, and dismissal is without leave to amend.”
DoNotPay is a legal services chatbot that advertises itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer” and helps people challenge bank account fees, obtain green cards and visas, sue over data breaches, collect money owed from consumer class action settlements, and carry out dozens of other legal actions. Mathew Hufnus, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, had alleged that DoNotPay sent him a text message without prior express written consent, and filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California accusing the company of sending unsolicited advertising texts in violation of the TCPA.
According to the court’s order, to state a claim under the TCPA, the plaintiff must allege that DoNotPay sent messages using an “automatic telephone dialing system” (autodialer) within the meaning of the TCPA. However, the court found that because DoNotPay only contacts phone numbers specifically provided by consumers during DoNotPay’s registration process, and not random or sequential phone numbers, it does not qualify as an autodialer under the TCPA. As a result, the court said, “Hufnus’s claim thus fails as a matter of law, and dismissal is without leave to amend.”
The Life Sciences Report - Q1 2021
In this issue, we feature articles on managing IP development and capture at growing medtech start-ups, life sciences venture financings in which firm clients participated during 2020, the U.S.-Japan Healthcare Connection's virtual conference on the coming revolution in healthcare, and the Biden administration's signing of two bipartisan bills that aim to promote drug competition and reduce prescription drug prices, as well as a summary of select recent life sciences client highlights.