Vacasa Grabs $108 Million in New Funding Led by Private Equity Investor Silver Lake
Skift Take
The coronavirus pandemic made some travel companies seem like dominoes stacked too closely together. But private equity will help some businesses like Vacasa escape this crisis without toppling over.
Vacasa, the property management service for vacation rentals, said Tuesday it had raised $108 million in investment led by existing investor Silver Lake, with Riverwood Capital and Level Equity also taking part.
The U.S. private equity firm first took a stake in the Portland, Oregon-based company last October.
Vacasa didn't say if the latest round placed a lower valuation on the company. Given that the round was smaller than the $319 million Series C, a drop in valuation seems likely.
The company did say the new funding will allow it to bring back the vast majority of workers it had furloughed.
Since mid-May, Vacasa's booking window has normalized to the same 40 days out average as last year.
"We see a snap-back in the pent-up demand for professionally managed vacation rentals that we had hoped for," said Matt Roberts, who became CEO in February weeks before the crisis hit. But, several key markets, such as California, have still not reopened.
