Business appears to be back to usual at the beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse earlier this year following a bank run, and subsequent acquisition by Raleigh-based First Citizens Bank.
SVB — whose name and operating unit First Citizens has retained — participated in two debt financing deals with Massachusetts companies in the first six months of 2023, according to data provided to BostInno by Pitchbook.
The first deal was with Oort, a Boston-based identity security startup. The $6 million debt financing deal closed in February.
Oort was in the headlines just last week when Cisco Systems Inc. announced that it intends to acquire the Boston startup. Oort was founded in 2019 by a former Cisco employee and is known for its identity threat detection and response technology.
In April, SVB also loaned $2.5 million to Medford-based OPT Industries. The MIT spinout works with companies in industries like healthcare, automotive, interior and consumer goods to design and manufacture a range of materials and products.
Pitchbook data shows that SVB had venture debt deals with three Massachusetts companies during the first half of 2022. This includes loans to Noetic and NDVR (Pitchbook data did not include the deal size), and a $20.5 million debt refinancing with Zageno.
SVB’s deals have also picked back up across the country. The bank recently closed a major debt financing deal with San Francisco startup 6sense, offering the company $100 million in a senior secured revolving credit facility. SVB also loaned $50 million to a San Mateo company, Achieve, a fintech that offers loans of its own.
The bank was renowned as a major lender to local startups and many feared its collapse would have indelible effects on the startup ecosystem's ability to access capital, especially during the current market downturn where startups struggle to access funding.
SVB said it has completed many deals since its acquisition by First Citizens on March 27.
"Silicon Valley Bank has been doing many loan deals of all sizes throughout, and since, the acquisition by First Citizens Bank (FCB)," an SVB spokesperson said in an email. "Our loan products and services are the same as they were prior to the acquisition. The recent debt facility with 6sense is one of many recent deals and it is one the largest we’ve announced since becoming a division of FCB."
The bank also participated in a $200 million funding of Denver-based Pivot Energy in May, where it provided an undisclosed amount of debt as part of the deal, and provided Indian startup Pocket FM with $16 million of debt that same month. It also provided a loan of an unknown amount to Georgia-based startup Presso in May. And in April, SVB loaned $100 million to Austin-based 8fig.
These deals may mark a return to form for SVB and a sign that its new owner, First Citizens Bank, wants to continue its legacy as a prominent startup lender.
CEO Frank Holdings Jr. has previously made statements along those lines. "We're committed to continuing to help you move bold ideas forward and deliver the speed, creativity and flexibility to help you achieve your ambitious goals," he said in an email to SVB clients in March.
While the newly acquired SVB has been active providing startups with loans, it has been much less so than when it was independent. Over the same period last year (April-June 2022), the bank participated in 14 deals providing debts to startups, according to Pitchbook, three of which where SVB loaned over $100 million.
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