15 September 2020

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) is pleased to announce that it has opened an office in Milan, headed by Luigi Bartone, Head of ICG Italy; he will be joined by Giulio Piccinini, Managing Director, previously based in London.

Luigi Bartone joined ICG in 2004 from AT Kearney and holds an MBA from INSEAD. ICG has invested regularly in the region ever since.

Giulio Piccinini joined ICG in 2017 from Vision Capital. Prior to his private equity investment career, Giulio worked in the investment banking division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch and as a management consultant at Bain & Co. Giulio holds an MBA from New York University.

Commenting on ICG’s move to establish an office in Milan, Luigi Bartone, Managing Director, Head of Italy, said, “Italy is a significant market for ICG and the opening of a permanent office strengthens our presence and commitment to the country. There is plenty of activity in Italy and with an office in Milan we will capture even more opportunities across asset classes; we will be closer to our portfolio companies, and to entrepreneurs and management teams willing to partner with ICG to accelerate their companies’ growth”.

For further information please contact:

ICG
Alicia Wyllie
Co-Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0)203 201 7994
Mobile: +44 (0)7808 610080
Email: alicia.wyllie@icgam.com

Helen Gustard
Co-Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0)203 201 7760
Mobile: +44 (0)7932 486928
Email: helen.gustard@icgam.com

Maitland/amo
Sam Turvey
Partner
Tel: +44 (0)207 379 5151
Mobile: +44 (0)78 2783 6246
Email: sturvey@maitland.co.uk

About ICG
ICG is a global alternative asset manager with over 30 years’ history.

We manage €45.6bn* of assets in private debt, credit and equity, principally in closed-end funds. We provide capital to help companies grow through private and public markets, developing long-term relationships with our business partners to deliver value for shareholders, clients and employees. We operate across four asset classes – corporate, capital market, real asset and secondary investments. In addition to growing existing strategies, we are committed to innovation and pioneering new strategies across these asset classes where the market opportunity exists.

ICG is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICP). Further details are available at: www.icgam.com . You can follow ICG on LinkedIn.

^*as at 30 June 2020

Read the press release

Impact – 24.9.2020

 

Highlights of the review period:  

• Tesi made new investments and commitments amounting to 183 M€ during the first half of the year. These included:  
  • a 65 M€ commitment to the KRR IV fund-of-funds  
  • a total of 45 M€ in commitments to venture capital and private equity funds  
  • direct investments amounting to 23 M€  
  • altogether 50 M€ in stabilisation investments
• The KRR IV fund-of-funds managed by Tesi raised a total of 175 M€
• Tesi’s Finnish portfolio funds raised new capital amounting to 333 M€
• Tesi’s international partners invested altogether 49 M€ in Finnish companies.  

 

  

Tesi’s CEO Jan Sasse comments on the review period:  

“The COVID-19 pandemic produced a shock both in the global economy and in Finnish companies. The full effects of this shock will not become clear until well into the future. Tesi’s role in this special situation is to ensure through financing that there are still innovative, viable companies providing employment in Finland after the crisis has passed. Towards this end, we have collaborated extensively with growth companies, our state owner, the venture capital and private equity sector and other stakeholders by creating new financial instruments for growth companies as well as by producing status reports to aid decision-making.  

Growth companies financed by the VC/PE market play a crucial role in achieving transformative and sustainable economic growth. Tesi invests in companies’ growth and over the long term develops the VC/PE market. Just before the coronavirus crisis, together with Finnish pension and insurance companies, we established the new KRR IV fund-of-funds that invests in Finnish VC/PE funds.  

Before the COVID-19 struck, Finnish funds had raised large volumes of capital, specifically on the venture capital side. Consequently, the pandemic has not hampered fundraising to a large extent, apart from some individual funds. In the spring, the prospects for follow-on financing for venture capital and private equity backed companies were also good. More traditional SMEs encountered  difficulties the most, as COVID-19 had a direct impact on their business operations. We launched a fast-track stabilisation program precisely for these companies that were facing an acute liquidity crisis. In the first half of the year, we invested 50 M€ from the stabilisation program in altogether nine companies. We will continue to offer stabilisation financing as the market situation demands. 

On the venture capital side, Finnish start-ups raised a record amount of capital in the first half of the year, despite the COVID-19 crisis. Time will tell whether the pandemic will impact the operations of international investors in the future. Tesi was involved in large venture capital rounds (Swappie, Varjo Technologies, ICEYE), where we utilised the EFSI investment programme set up in collaboration with the EIB. For earlier-stage companies, we offer Venture Bridge financing that will give start-ups more time for raising larger financing rounds.  

Despite the challenging business environment, our net profit for the review period was €7 million. Tesi has solid resources for long-term investment operations that emphasise sustainable development and positive societal impacts. Capitalisation by the Finnish state has also given Tesi the resources to ensure the supply of financing for the duration of the crisis should the pandemic be prolonged.”

Business environment  

Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Finnish funds had raised large volumes of capital, especially on the venture capital side. As a result, the coronavirus pandemic has so far not widely impacted the fundraising of Finnish funds to a large extent. Individual funds have faced some difficulties in raising the target size on schedule due to the market uncertainty. 

Based on the market pulse survey conducted by Tesi, Finnish Venture Capital Association and Business Finland Venture Capital in May, Finnish investors are fairly well placed to provide follow-on financing for their portfolio companies. 

In the first half of 2020, Finnish start–ups raised a record amount of capital, 330 M€, despite the coronavirus pandemic (Source: Talouselämä). Valuations of venture capital backed companies have remained broadly the same.  

The more conventional venture capital backed companies and business models (software, digitalisation) have been the winners of the COVID-19 situation. The business operations of these companies have mostly fared well. Securing financing is more challenging for companies that are raising Series A funding rounds yet lack a longer-term track record, and for more atypical business models, in which the presence of, for instance, industrial investors has become emphasized in recent years.  

The main concern now with regard to Finland’s GDP is the prospect of falling demand on the global market for the goods and services of more traditional SMEs and of Finland’s export sector. Also, established consumer-driven businesses have encountered serious challenges. 

Investments 

During the first half of the year, Tesi made new investments amounting to 183 M€ (76 M€ in H1 2019). These included a commitment to the KRR IV fund-of-funds, commitments to VC/PE funds, direct investments, and stabilisation financing.  

Tesi made commitments to funds totalling 45 M€. Four of these commitments were to Finnish funds (Superhero Venture Fund 2020, Icebreaker Fund II, GOS Private Debt I, Verso III), and one was to an international fund to be announced later. New capital raised by Tesi’s Finnish portfolio funds totalled 333 M€. Tesi made a commitment of 65 M€ to the 175 M€ KRR IV fund-of-funds. Co-investors in KRR IV are the pension/insurance companies Ilmarinen, Keva, State Pension Fund of Finland, Elo, LähiTapiola and Veritas. The KRR fund-of-funds managed by Tesi invest in Finnish venture capital and growth funds.  

Tesi made direct investments amounting to 23 M€ in 14 companies. Three of these were initial investments totalling 11 M€ (Upcloud, Nordic Rescue Group, Swappie). Follow-on investments totalling 12 M€ were made in altogether 11 companies. 

In April, Tesi launched a 150 M€ stabilisation financing program for mid-sized companies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stabilisation investments differ from Tesi’s normal investments and offer companies facing an acute liquidity crisis financing to overcome the situation. Tesi made nine investments amounting to 50 M€ under the stabilisation programme. These companies employ some 8,200 people in Finland.  

In mid-June 2020, Tesi launched Venture Bridge for companies that have previously raised at least seed financing from professional venture capital investors and have had to postpone their next external financing round due to COVID-19. No investments under the programme had yet been made in June. By 10 September 2020, Tesi has made investments decisions totalling 2.4 M€ in altogether five companies (Blidz, Disior, Matchmade, Fake Production, Revonte). 

Financials

Profit after taxes for the review period was 7 M€ (13 M€ in H1 2019). The strong result of 36 M€ by funds can be explained by the good first half of the year, which saw several positive exits. Direct investments produced a net loss of 12 M€, which mainly resulted from the decrease of the fair value of the portfolio companies at more mature stages, and the weakening of their business environment due to the corona pandemic. The weakened market situation also reflected to financial securities as they produced a loss of 10 M€. 

The balance sheet total amounted to 1.288 B€. The largest change in shareholders’ equity, 1.245 B€, was the state capitalisation of 150 M€ intended for Tesi’s new investment programs.  

In preparation for any worsening of the economic situation, the Finnish state committed a further 250 M€ for capitalising Tesi in the 2020 supplementary budget IV. The additional capital will be channelled flexibly, according to the market situation, into venture capital investments, Tesi’s stabilisation program and investments in funds over the next two years to mitigate the disruption caused by the COVID-19. The appropriations from the supplementary budgets already paid, and those to be paid in the future, will be returned to the Finnish state after Tesi’s exits. 
  
Tesi’s investments under management at the end of the review period totalled 1.6 B€. In addition to Tesi’s own investments and commitments, the figure includes investments made by the KRR funds-of-funds and managed by Tesi as well as the European Investment Bank’s capital earmarked for the EFSI co-investment programme.  

Events after review period and prospects for year end  

After the review period, Tesi gave a commitment to CapMan Growth Equity Fund II and made a direct investment in Varjo Technologies. Tesi also made Venture Bridge investments totalling 2.4 M€ in five companies.  

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Finnish start-ups raised a record amount of capital during the first half of 2020. The impacts of the pandemic on international venture capitalists’ activity remains to be seen. The negotiations for many of the large financing rounds that took place in the summer and early autumn were already initiated before the pandemic struck. 

The second half of the year is likely to be challenging for more traditional SMEs. The challenges are, however, sector and company-specific. Shortened order books will have wide consequences for engineering companies. Furthermore, Finland having a post-cyclical economy, the full impacts will not be seen until later. 

Tesi’s deal flow is normalising. Tesi is, however, well prepared for worsening conditions for growth companies by ensuring the fund-raising of VC/PE funds, expanding its role in direct venture capital investments, both in Venture Bridge and in larger financing rounds, and by offering stabilisation financing to mid-sized companies that were profitable pre-coronavirus.  

The key driver of Tesi’s operations is to make a positive social impact. The main methods for promoting positive social impacts are channelling capital to companies that will use their expertise and solutions to make a net impact on society that is as beneficial as possible and producing information on the impacts of operations.

Read in more detail:

Tesi’s performance and results H1 2020 

For further information, please contact: 

Jan Sasse, CEO, Tesi
jan.sasse@tesi.fi, +358 40 861 9151 

  Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of renewing economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, hand-in-hand with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 1.6 billion euros. Ambition for ownership and success www.tesi.fi | www.dtg.tesi.fi | @TesiFII

 

On March 30, 2020, the Board of Directors of Ratos decided to withdraw the proposal for a dividend for fiscal year 2019, due to the market instability and uncertainty factors about COVID-19’s medium-term financial effects. In addition, it was stated that the Board of Directors had an intention to call the shareholders to an Extraordinary General Meeting later in the year to resolve on a dividend, if the market had stabilized at this time and the company’s visibility in earnings had normalized. The Board of Directors has now assessed the company’s financial performance and cash position and concluded that a reinstatement of the dividend is appropriate. Therefore, the Board of Directors has decided that the company shall call for an Extraordinary General Meeting on 22 October, 2020, to decide on a proposal of a dividend of SEK 0.65 per share to be paid for the fiscal year 2019. Ratos will repay the governmental grants that have been received in Sweden related to the COVID-19 situation. Further details regarding the Extraordinary General Meeting will be provided shortly in a separate notice for the meeting.

For further information, please contact:
Jonas Wiström, CEO Ratos, tel: +46 8 700 17 00
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR- and Press Ratos, tel: +46 70 868 40 50, email: helene.gustafsson@ratos.se

This press release contains insider information that Ratos AB is required to disclose under the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the contact person set out above, at 6:00 pm CET on 22 September, 2020.

About Ratos:
Ratos is a business group consisting of 12 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 38 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 1.8 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.

New York, September 22, 2020 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) priced its offering of $500 million of 1.600% senior notes due 2031 and $400 million of 2.800% senior notes due 2050 of Blackstone Holdings Finance Co. L.L.C., its indirect subsidiary. The notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by The Blackstone Group Inc. and its indirect subsidiaries, Blackstone Holdings I L.P., Blackstone Holdings AI L.P., Blackstone Holdings II L.P., Blackstone Holdings III L.P. and Blackstone Holdings IV L.P.  Blackstone intends to use the proceeds from the notes offering for general corporate purposes.

The notes were offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933.

The notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the notes or any other securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.  This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act of 1933.

Investor and Media Relations Contacts

Weston Tucker
Blackstone
Tel: +1 (212) 583-5231
tucker@blackstone.com

Matthew Anderson
Blackstone
Tel: +1 (212) 390-2472
matthew.anderson@blackstone.com

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the consumer brands of tomorrow, has launched a new share offer to raise up to £40 million (an initial £20 million,with an over-allotment facility for a further £20 million).The additional cashwill allow the company to grow its existing portfolio and take advantage of a healthy pipeline of prospective investment opportunities.Pembroke VCT gives investors the opportunity to share in the growth of some of the UK’s most exciting and innovative smaller companies, across industries with strong growth prospects. It has total assets of over £110million (31August 2020). Since its launch in 2012, Pembroke VCT has invested£75million in45 companies,helping strong management teams realise their vision for building consumer-focused brands.New investors will gain immediate access to a maturing portfolio of growing businesses and to a well‑established dividend‑paying VCT. The portfolio includeshigh growth, innovative brands–such as Plenish, Popsa, Kinteract, ME+EMand Pasta Evangelists–in the design, education, food, beverage & hospitality, wellness, digital services and media sectors.Additionally, Pembroke intends to use the funds raised to make a number of follow‑on investments in portfolio companies, where further capital will accelerate their growth plans. Pembroke partners with founders and its ‘Stepping Stone’ investment process provides additional funding to take advantage of growth opportunities that emerge during the journey. Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Investment Managers LLPcommented; “Weinvest in exceptional foundersthat we believe in,and work alongside themto supporttheircontinued growth through our strategic and operational expertise.This new offer will not only allow us to growour existing portfolio, but also to invest in new companies that we believe have the potential to become the consumer brands of tomorrow.”

-ENDS-NOTES

TO EDITORS

Pembroke VCT

Pembroke VCT plc, managed by Pembroke Investment Managers LLP, is a VCT with a difference –offering much more than capital. Pembroke finds exceptional founders to grow the consumer brands of tomorrow, across industries with exciting growth prospects. Pembroke only invests in companies where it can add value over and above simply providing capital, where it is confident its resources and experience can be most instrumental in their growth. The VCT gives investors the opportunity to share in the growth of some of the UK’s most exciting and innovative smaller companiesin the design, education, food, beverage & hospitality, wellness, digital services and media sectors.

Andrew Wolfson, CEO, Pembroke Investment Managers LLP

CEO Andrew Wolfson is responsible for executing the firm’s strategy, leading the investment team, deal origination and supporting portfolio companies. Andrew sits on the board of a number of Pembroke’s investments. Prior to the launch of Pembroke, Andrew was a Director at Oakley Capital and worked with smaller portfolio companies including KX and James Perse. Before joining Oakley, Andrew ran several businesses working across a breadth of sectors from hospitality to manufacturing and telecoms. Andrew is also a director of Benesco Charity Limited, and a trustee of The Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust.

Press Office

Zoe Powelle:zpowell@sharecomms.co.ukdd: 020 7071 3932m: 07866 639014

Sarah Plevnike:splevnik@sharecomms.co.ukdd:020 7074 3571m:07789 725585

 

SHIFT Invest raises EUR 70 Million for the largest Dutch impact venture capital fund

 

Today, SHIFT Invest announced that it has attracted an additional EUR 23 Million in the second close of its new VC fund SHIFT III. SHIFT Invest’s 3^rd impact fund has been oversubscribed and is more than double the size of its predecessor fund.

 

 

The need for disruptive technologies is ever growing

The unprecedented pressure we humans are putting on biodiversity and the way we are changing the Earth’s climate, needs to be drastically limited. We need many forms of solutions, coming from academia, governments, international institutions and from businesses. New ways of thinking and disruptive technologies are key and part of the required actions. However, to bring technology solutions to the market and scale them to create significant impact, capital is required. SHIFT III, together with all Dutch technical Universities and the Dutch research institute TNO, selects the most promising technologies led by ambitious and high performing teams. SHIFT is an early stage investor and typically invests in concept stage, Seed and Series A rounds. SHIFT III also backs its portfolio companies in larger follow-on funding rounds (Series B and C) until exit.

Accelerating ‘tough technologies’ together with a broad range of investors

SHIFT III was created to accelerate companies disrupting the agro-food, biobased or environmentally high burden value chains. A successful first close last February included commitments from cornerstone investor Rabo Corporate Investments, family offices, Dutch regional development funds, Wageningen U&R and other universities as well as successful startup entrepreneurs who were backed by our previous funds. Half a year down the road, SHIFT welcomes new investors such as EIF and Corbion in order to back more ambitious entrepreneurs and create more impact. The European Investment Fund encourages investments in SHIFT’s focus areas and has put a clear commitment to the fund for the coming years. With its contribution, SHIFT III has become the biggest impact investor of its kind in the Netherlands.

Alain Godard, Chief Executive of the EIF, stated: “Climate change is on top of the agenda also for the financing world. The European Investment Fund fully supports the development of a European environmentally-conscious VC ecosystem, which can stimulate the emergence and market introduction of groundbreaking innovation with a positive and fundamental impact on climate and the environment. Such an ecosystem could significantly contribute to societal and economic change.”

Industry and family offices turning more and more towards meaningful investments

“We are seeing an increasing amount of family offices and corporates realizing that their contribution is needed for the urgent shift to a different and circular economy”, says Florentine Fockema Andreae, partner at SHIFT Invest. Partnering with Corbion, a new investor in the fund, provides synergies within the framework of industry knowledge and supporting early stage innovation. “At Corbion, addressing climate change is a business opportunity. We are very excited to join this impact focused innovation platform as this fits seamlessly with our Advance 2025 strategy that is focused around preserving what matters. Open innovation is essential in the transition toward a world in which our planet’s natural boundaries are respected”, says Marcel Wubbolts, Chief Science & Sustainability Officer at Corbion.

Largest seed & early stage impact investor in the Netherlands

SHIFT Invest has been an impact investor long before ’impact investing’ emerged as an industry itself.  In 2009, SHIFT started its first impact fund and invested in, among others, Protix, ChainCraft and Vandebron. SHIFT’s professional fund management can build on long lasting relationships, years of experience in venture capital, a strong reputation and many good and a handful of bad practices. This is why so many investors have committed to the fund: to make a difference and contribute to our shared impact goal of ‘Turning investments into impact’.

Fulcrum Equity Partners has partnered with Goodie Nation to support a new generation of diverse entrepreneurs.

ATLANTA (PRWEB)September 10, 2020

Fulcrum Equity Partners, a leading growth equity firm headquartered in Atlanta, has partnered with Goodie Nation, a collective impact initiative that helps to fill the funding gap for diverse led (Black, Latinx or Women) startups, social impact startups, and tech talent training programs. Fulcrum has pledged to fund a capital grant and will be donating their time and expertise to Goodie Nation’s mentorship program.

“Goodie Nation has a phenomenal program that addresses an urgent need in our entrepreneurial community,” says Jeff Muir, Partner at Fulcrum. “Our goal is to help in their mission of closing the disparity between historically underfunded and underrepresented communities in Atlanta and beyond.”

Goodie Nation’s flagship program is The Intentionally Good Project which accelerates relationships with:

• Influencers for endorsements and key advisor roles
• Large organizations for paid pilots and strategic partners
• Investors and funders for financial capital

They focus on intentionally building a pipeline from the next generation of leaders to the resources needed to reach their potential.

Goodie Nation’s development of tech talent pairs well with Fulcrum’s rich experience with funding and growing profitable technology companies, a step forward to creating a more equitable future for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds.

“Providing the intersection between capital partners and startups that are ready to accelerate to the next stage of their growth is at the crux of what we do,” states Joey Womack, Founder and CEO of Goodie Nation. “We’re excited to partner with Fulcrum and leverage their expertise to continue furthering our mission.”

About Goodie Nation
Goodie Nation is a community of good people playing a role in an innovative process reducing some of the world’s largest basic need disparities. They envision a world where every innovative company has an official policy to donate office hours, warm introductions, and opportunities to succeed to the next generation of diverse founders and social entrepreneurs. Their programming serves as platforms and networks, which fosters collaboration and support that solves some of the world’s toughest problems. It is tech done right. Learn more at http://www.goodienation.org.

About Fulcrum Equity Partners
Fulcrum Equity Partners is an Atlanta-based growth equity firm that manages over $500 million and provides expansion capital to rapidly growing companies led by strong entrepreneurs and management teams. Fulcrum targets companies within healthcare services, healthcare IT, B2B software, and technology-enabled services. Fulcrum’s initial target investment is $3 million – $15 million to provide financing to meet a wide range of needs, including internal growth initiatives, acquisitions, divestitures, shareholder liquidity and recapitalizations. The partners have over 140 years of relevant experience in Fulcrum’s target markets, including significant operating experience in senior executive positions at companies that grew rapidly and enjoyed successful exits. Additionally, Fulcrum’s limited partners include over 100 current or former business owners/CEOs of leading companies in a wide variety of industries that provide a rich resource for the firm and portfolio companies. Learn more at http://www.fulcrumep.com.