More than 280 attendees consisting of the decision-makers from the top PE firms in the market will attend the conference. Firms such as Enterprise Investors, Capital Dynamics, Abris Capital Partners and many more have already confirmed their attendance, and are ready to network.

The 6th Polish & CEE Private Equity Conference is a one-day event in Warsaw on the 17th of January 2019. The conference offers inspirational keynotes, enriching panel discussions, and - most importantly - valuable networking opportunities.

More than 280 attendees consisting of the decision-makers from the top PE firms in the market will attend the conference. Firms such as Enterprise Investors, Capital Dynamics, Abris Capital Partners and many more have already confirmed their attendance, and are ready to network.

To offer high value to all its attendants, the conference offers speed networking and a dedicated matchmaking programme, which consists of 1-on-1 meetings that are pre-qualified based on your profile and interest.

ESTVCA has access to an exclusive promotional code (ESTVCA_PEI) for you to secure your ticket at a 30% discount. Read more about the conference and register on http://bit.ly/PPEC19-ESTVCA

For more information, please contact Zakta from Private Equity Insights on zak@pe-insights.org

The purchase includes window and aluminium factories in Loimaa, closed since December 2018 after the previous owner filed for bankruptcy. Domus Yhtiöt had sales of about €30 million in 2017.

Fenestra Suomi plans to resume production on the site already early April. The main products will be wood-aluminium and wooden windows.

”We are very happy to announce that we will restart Loimaa factories and continue production on this site with more than 70 years of history. This is good news both for us and for the people living in the region”, the CEO of Fenestra Lauri Laast said.

”Most of the workers lost their jobs at the bankruptcy. We’ve briefed them on the situation and started hiring again. Our plan is to grow with the sales and gradually ramp up the production to two shifts.’’, the CEO of Fenestra Lauri Laast says. Fenestra has now two factories, the other one located in Harjumaa, Estonia.

”We expect to realize synergies from logistics and sales activities. Also, production processes will be reassessed in order to increase efficiency.’’, Laast said. Laast has track record in turning around struggling businesses: with the current management, he has led the turnaround of Fenestra after purchasing the assets of the bankrupt company in 2015.

Fenestra is owned 60% by Baltic investment fund Livonia Partners and 40% by the management team: Lauri Laast, Riho Prass and Martti Siitam.

”We are planning to continue our expansion in Nordic markets, where we see great growth prospects and rising demand for high-quality windows. Acquisition of Domus fits perfectly in our long-term strategy”, Rain Lõhmus, founding partner of Livonia Partners said.

Fenestra

Fenestra develops and manufactures wooden-aluminium windows and balcony doors, exporting more than 70% of its production. The main market for the company is Scandinavia. Lauri Laast, Riho Prass and Martti Siitam purchased the company from bankrupt family-owned enterprise in 2014. In 2014 Fenestra’s consolidated revenue amounted to €7.3 million and in 2018 estimated revenue reached €16.5 million. Fenestra employs more than 100 people. Fenestra is owned 60% by Livonia Partners and 40% belong to the management team: Lauri Laast, Riho Prass and Martti Siitam.

Livonia Partners

Livonia Partners is dedicated private equity investment firm, currently managing €83 million as part of the Livonia Partners Fund I and the Livonia Partners EIF Co-Investment Fund, investing in Baltics and beyond. Run by founders Kaido Veske, Kristīne Bērziņa, Rain Lõhmus, and Mindaugas Utkevičius. Its investors are domestic and international financial institutions. Livonia was partly originated through the Baltic Innovation Fund (BIF), a common initiative of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and the European Investment Fund.

Further information and interview requests:

Styv Solovjov
Chairman of the supervisory board/ Livonia Partners
+372-564-597-38
styv.solovjov@livoniapartners.com

Lauri Laast
Chief Executive Officer / Fenestra AS
+372 514 0000
lauri.laast@fenestra.ee

BaltCap sells its 95% stake in Fitek Holding to UnifiedPost Group, one of Europe’s leading FinTech firms headquartered in Belgium.

Fitek is the market leader in financial automation processes: the company operates in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the UK, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

BaltCap’s investment fund BaltCap Private Equity Fund II acquired OpusCapita (part of Finnish Posti Group) Baltic businesses in 2015 and oversaw the transformation of three local players into a truly international group with a strong portfolio of digital platforms and services. In three years, the number of employees has increased from 107 to over 270.

The current transaction is the first exit for BaltCap Private Equity Fund II (“BPEF II”) as well as for the Baltic Innovation Fund (“BIF”), a fund-of-funds initiative supported by the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Estonia and the EIF. The BIF, advised by the EIF, is a significant investor in BPEF II.

“Combining efforts means not only the creation of a major FinTech player across Europe, but it is a great deal for our customers as well,” says Mait Sooaru, CEO of Fitek. “More specifically, a widened product portfolio to serve our customers’ e-invoicing and payment serviced needs.”

“Our investment in Fitek Group has been a resounding success,” said Kristjan Kalda, BaltCap’s partner. “We planned to remain a shareholder for a longer period. Though this happens sooner than expected, it is a perfect opportunity not only for shareholders, but also for customers and employees of Fitek and UnifiedPost Group. I would like to thank the fantastic team in Fitek, this strategic move is definitely a huge leap for the company.”

Hans Leybaert, CEO of UnifiedPost Group: “Our ambition is to grow internationally and to further strengthen our position as a leading player in the FinTech landscape. With both companies coming together, we not only expand our European footprint, but are also getting extra people with solid knowledge of the sector onboard. The growth strategy of UnifiedPost Group is reconfirmed with this acquisition.”

Mait Sooaru and Kaur Lohk will continue as shareholders and executive managers of Fitek. The seller was advised by law firm COBALT.

About UnifiedPost and Fitek Group

We are a leading FinTech group that helps businesses to digitize and optimize their financial value chain, in B2B(2C): from contract – over invoice – to payment, including alternative financial services.

We develop and manage platforms for electronic payment collection, invoice financing and more, starting from “transactional document processing”.

About BaltCap Private Equity Fund II

BaltCap Private Equity Fund II (BPEF II) established in 2014 makes equity investments in innovative companies based in the Baltic region focusing on buy-and-build opportunities. BPEF II was established in cooperation with the European Investment Fund (EIF) involved in the project through the Baltic Innovation Fund (BIF). The BIF is an initiative created by cooperation between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and EIF.

For more information, please contact:

Kristjan Kalda                                                    Mait Sooaru
Partner, BaltCap                                                 CEO, Fitek Group
Phone: +372 665 0280                                       Phone: +372 501 9533
E-mail: kristjan.kalda@baltcap.com                     E-mail: mait.sooaru@fitek.com
www.baltcap.com                                              www.fitek.com

Baltic VCA Summit will be held on 21-22 August in Pärnu – a resort town known for its 19th-century timber villas and for sandy Pärnu Beach, with its shallow waters, and promenades.

The main event will be held on 21 August at the iconic Pärnu Beach Hotel. On 22 August Baltic VCA Summit will continue with a series of activities and will reach its finale at Pärnu Rowing Club with a thrilling race where VCs go up against Buyout.

Programme

12:00 - 13:00 Welcoming lunch
13:00 - 14:30 SESSION I
14:30 - 15:00 Networking break
15:00 - 16:30 SESSION II
16:30 - 17:00 Closing remarks, drinks and snacks
19:30 - 00:00 Dinner and evening programme by TGS Baltics

Confirmed Speakers:

Taavi Rõivas - Former Prime Minister of Estonia
Tomoko Inoue - CEO at Omron Ventures, Tokyo
Chris Wade - Partner at Isomer Capital, London
Kristjan Kalda - Partner at BaltCap, Tallinn
Matias Kaila - Director of Fund Investments, Tesi, Helsinki
Anne Fossemalle - Director of Equity Funds at EBRD, London
Jerry Yang - General Partner at Hardware Club, Paris
Michael Collins - Executive Director at Invest Europe, Brussels,
Tadas Gudaitis - CEO at Swedbank Asset Management, Vilnius
Kriss Spulis - Investment Manager at EIF, Luxembourg
Kristiina Koort - Managing Director at EstVCA, Tallinn
Ralph Guenther - Partner at Pantheon, London
Pia Santavirta - Managing Director at FVCA, Helsinki


The programme will revolve around the thriving Baltics but to keep the official part lively and entertaining, and to broaden the prospective of the audience, we add a specific country touch each year (previously Israel, India, Columbia, Netherlands). This year the moderator will take the audience on a journey to Japan. Insights into Japanese business and culture will continue throughout the day and evening programme.

For more information and registration please visit our event website www.estvca.ee/summit

BPM Mezzanine Fund SICAV-SIF, SCA (BPM) has provided financing for the buy-out of a well-known Latvian dairy Smiltenes Piens. Smiltenes Piens is one of the leading Latvian dairy companies with a high quality product portfolio, ranging from dairy drinks to cottage cheese. Smiltenes Piens stands out with its excellent choice of cheese products, which are very popular in the Latvian market. The new owner of the Company, Mr. Armands Kovaldins, plans to continue with the same strategy and maintain strong foothold in the Latvian market, but also gradually increase the share of exports in the sales portfolio.

Commenting on the deal, Mr. Armands Kovaldins noted that the buy-out of Smiltenes Piens was a logical step for all parties involved. We respect and value very highly the contribution of Gita Murniece and Girts Strads (the exiting shareholders), who developed Smiltenes Piens over decades and turned it into a modern dairy with high quality products and strong brands. This forms a strong foundation to grow the business further and we believe that together with the existing management team we are able to achieve this.

“It is an excellent opportunity for us to back the buy-out of such prominent company with strong brands, top-quality products and high reputation. We believe Mr. Kovaldins together with the management team can develop the Company further and the products of Smiltenes Piens can also be well received in the export markets. We also consider the dairy industry to be attractive with its countercyclical characteristics. The investment is an awaited addition to BPM’s portfolio due to its stable nature in combination with growth potential,” said Martin Reinson, Partner of BPM Capital.

For further enquiries, please contact:

BPM Capital:
Martin Reinson
tel: +372 605 0072
e-mail: martin.reinson@bpmcapital.eu

Smiltenes Piens:
Armands Kovaldins
tel: +371 2026 2606
e-mail: armands.kovaldins@smiltenespiens.lv

More information about BPM Capital

BPM Capital (www.bpmcapital.eu) is an independent investment manager operating out of two offices, in Tallinn and Warsaw. It has been founded and is managed by Kalmer Kikas, Martin Reinson, Paweł Zabrzycki and Priit Veering.  BPM is supported by prominent international and domestic institutional investors. BPM was originated through the Baltic Innovation Fund initiative created by cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the European Investment Fund.

More information about Smiltenes Piens

Smiltenes Piens (www.smiltenespiens.lv) is a Latvian dairy company operating out of two production facilities in Smiltene and in Blome. The Company’s key products include cheeses, dairy desserts, dairy drinks, cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir, butter and milk. Smiltenes Piens products are widely recognized and have received a number of prizes and honors.

Photo by Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash

BaltCap Private Equity Fund II (BPEF II) has entered into an agreement to sell auto24, a leading automotive classifieds portal in Estonia, to Baltic Classifieds Group. Completion is expected to take place later this year, subject to regulatory approvals. The parties have agreed to not disclose financial details of the transaction.

Founded in Tartu and headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, auto24 is a leading automotive classifieds business in the country connecting buyers and sellers through itsauto24.ee portal. It also operates a generalist classifieds site (kuldnebors.ee) in a variety of categories.

The acquisition of auto24 will diversify Baltic Classifieds Group’s portfolio of online portals. The transaction represents Baltic Classifieds Group’s first add-on since it was acquired by funds advised by Apax Partners, the global private equity advisory firm, in July 2019.

BaltCap and the management of auto24 acquired the company from Sanoma Media Finland OY in 2017. Oliver Kullman, Partner at BaltCap, said: “I would like to thank the management team of auto24 for their professionalism and commitment during the last three years. It was great to support the company’s development and I wish the team success in the future. I would also like to highlight the role of local pension funds in the transaction: they participated both as investors in BPEF II, and in case of LHV Varahaldus also by providing debt instruments. This is a good example of how pension funds can invest in the local economy.”

Margus Tomberg, CEO of auto24, added: “We look forward to the partnership with Baltic Classifieds Group and Apax Partners. They possess a wealth of experience and industry knowledge within the online classifieds market which offers an exciting opportunity for auto24 and its customers.”

Justinas Šimkus, CEO of Baltic Classifieds Group commented: “The auto24 team has built a successful and innovative company, and we look forward to working together and learning from each other’s experience. We look forward to investing in auto24 further and, with the support of Apax’s Operational Excellence Practice, enhance the value proposition of auto24 for both advertisers and buyers.”

BaltCap was advised by Superia Corporate Finance, Ellex Raidla and KPMG and Baltic Classifieds Group was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and COBALT.

About auto24

The company operates the auto24.ee classified portal in Estonia in which offers car, motorbike, boat and heavy equipment advertising. It also operates the Kuldne Börs generalist classifieds site in a variety of categories, such as construction materials, agricultural equipment, pets and household goods. It also operates Autoleht, a weekly car magazine and Motors24, a site for motor vehicle videos.

About Baltic Classifieds Group

Baltic Classifieds Group is a portfolio of online platforms in the Baltics, specialising in five key markets: specialised classifieds for automotive, real estate and jobs; generalist classifieds; and ecommerce. The company operates in Lithuania, its largest market, through Diginet LTU, in Estonia through Allepal OÜ, and in Latvia through City24. For more information see https://balticclassifieds.com/

About BaltCap Private Equity Fund II

BaltCap Private Equity Fund II (BPEF II) makes equity investments in innovative companies based in the Baltic region focusing on buy-and-build opportunities. BPEF II was established in cooperation with the European Investment Fund (EIF) involved in the project through the Baltic Innovation Fund (BIF). The BIF is an initiative created by cooperation between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and EIF. The other investors of BPEF II include the EBRD, Baltic pension funds, fund-of-funds and family offices. For more information see www.baltcap.com

About Apax Partners

Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see www.apax.com 

For more information please contact: 

Oliver Kullman
Partner, BaltCap
Phone: +372 56 463 642
oliver.kullman@baltcap.com
www.baltcap.com

Margus Tomberg
Auto24
Phone: +372 504 7348
margus.tomberg@auto24.ee

Justinas Simkus
Baltic Classifieds Group
justinas@antlergroup.eu

Andrew Kenny
Apax Partners
Phone: +44 20 7 872 6371
andrew.kenny@apax.com

According to the Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, Private Equity and Venture Capital market in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has grown sevenfold during the last five years, reaching €3 billion in 2019.

Baltic VCA held its annual conference Baltic VCA Summit in Pärnu, Estonia, on August 21-22. The conference brought together institutional investors, as well as private equity and venture capital investors from across the world. Baltic VCA Summit is the largest event for professional investors held in the Baltic region. This year, the conference was held by Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association and welcomed 200 participants from 13 countries, including Japan, UK, Singapore, and USA.

Baltic VCA Summit featured the following speakers: Tomoko Inoue, CEO of Omron Ventures (Tokyo, Japan); Chris Wade, Partner at Isomer Capital (London, UK); Kristjan Kalda, Partner at BaltCap (Tallinn, Estonia); Michael Collins, CEO at Invest Europe (Brussels, Belgium); Ralph Guenther, Partner at Pantheon (London, UK).

Kristjan Kalda, Chairman of the Management Board of the EstVCA said that the Baltics is region characterized by a strong startup community and experienced investors. “In 2013, the total volume of private equity and venture capital market in the Baltics amounted to €385 million with only a few investors. Today, we have grown to become a €3 billion market and a home for teams with various investment strategies. Additionally, a number of global startups have started their journey here: TransferWise, Pipedrive, Bolt (Taxify), Monese, Veriff, Citybee, just to name a few. We certainly have a solid foundation for the future growth“.

The Nordic and Baltic countries make up a so-called New Nordics region. “The New Nordics is becoming a region of interest for institutional investors, alongside Japan and USA. Private equity and venture capital investors consider the Baltics an attractive investment region, characterized by professional and dynamic approach,“ Kalda added.

Michael Collins, CEO at Invest Europe, noted in his presentation that although the Baltics is a small market, venture capital and private equity funds have shown excellent results. “The Baltics is an incredibly interesting region, which attracts great companies, and the local community is very strong as well. The challenge is to attract investors from different parts of the world. The sky is the limit if you can make this happen!“

Chris Wade, Partner at Isomer Capital, said that the Baltic region should take advantage of the investment potential of the private sector. „I strongly believe that Europe is a great place for startups and venture capital funds, but private sector should also invest in building successful startups. For this, a platform is needed to support the private sector.“

Taavi Rõivas, former Prime Minister of Estonia and current Member of the Parliament, emphasized in its speech that the Baltics and Estonia are defined by digital society and highly skilled workforce. “Estonia is the most advanced digital society in the world, where 99% of state services are online. It’s the first country to introduce a cross border digital identity, e-Residency. Estonians are known for their pragmatic approach to tech and a culture to innovate,” Rõivas said.

Presentations:

"Welcome to the New Nordics" by Taavi Rõivas
"The Unbelievable Rise of Baltic PE & VC" by Kristjan Kalda, Chairman at EstVCA.
"Behind the Scenes: Public approach to Developing VC Industry in Finland" by Matias Kaila, TESI
"EBRD perspective on the past and what lies ahead" by Pavel Dvorak, EBRD
"Inside a Corporate VC" by Tomoko Inoue, Omron Ventures
"Hello from Europe" by Michael Collins, Invest Europe

Photos:

BaltCap held the first close of BaltCap Private Equity Fund III (BPEF III) at €126 million, being above the initially targeted size subscribed by the existing investor base. The new fund will continue the proven and successful buy-and-build strategy of its predecessor funds, BPEF I and BPEF II, by making equity investments in mature innovative enterprises to build them into business champions.

The new fund will aim to make 8 to 10 platform investments in the Baltic and Nordic countries with enterprise values of these companies typically being between €10 to €50 million and the fund’s equity investment between €10 to €20 million.

Martin Kõdar, Managing Partner of BaltCap, emphasised that the new fund broadens the scope of BaltCap target markets. “In addition to the Baltics, which have been the core region for BaltCap, the fund will also focus on Finnish and Swedish companies with a Baltic nexus. The Nordic and Baltic economies are increasingly forming a larger, integrated market, the New Nordics, with enhanced business opportunities. BPEF III expects to be one of the facilitators of further business integration in the New Nordics,” Kõdar explained.

The investors committing to the fund include the European Investment Fund (EIF) investing partially through Baltic Innovation Fund 2 (an initiative created by cooperation between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and EIF), the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD), the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), LHV pension funds, SEB pension funds from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, eQ Asset Management and also family offices. “We highly appreciate our long-term cornerstone investors’ continued trust in our team and strategy. It is a remarkable achievement for us and our region to exceed the targeted fund size at first close,” added Kõdar.

Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive of EIF commented: “The investment into BaltCap Private Equity Fund III marks our continuous successful cooperation. Moreover, it is the first investment from the Baltic Innovation Fund 2 – the joint Pan-Baltic initiative created to continue development of the Baltic private equity and venture capital market.”

Charlotte Ruhe, EBRD’s Managing Director for Central and South Eastern Europe said investing in BaltCap’s new fund is a good strategic fit with the EBRD’s priorities in the Baltics. “We are supporting the emergence of a stronger, more sustainable private equity sector through the provision of equity and quasi-equity financing at all stages of company development. We are pleased with the role BaltCap already has and will continue to have, through this fund, in providing scarce equity finance to companies across the Baltic states,” she said.

SEB Investment Management fund manager Endriko Võrklaev stressed that SEB’s Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian pension funds are among the fund’s largest investors. „Today more and more growth stories can be found outside listed markets. We consider the local private companies a good match to the local pension funds with a long investment horizon. Our growing exposure to local economies also helps us to remain competitive against local inflation,” Võrklaev added.

Thor Thorsteinsson, Senior Financial Manager at the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) highlighted the green investments that will be made through the fund. “We are very pleased to continue our good cooperation with BaltCap and to invest in one of their funds targeting the Pan-Baltic region for the second time. NEFCO’s involvement in the fund will result in substantially increased investments directed into companies contributing to a positive environmental impact, related for example to recycling, energy efficiency and green transport,” said Thorsteinsson.

New Nordics as a concept includes the traditional Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland – and the three Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Together these countries form a dynamically growing, technology-driven and diverse, yet synergy-providing business environment that opens up innovative business possibilities.

An intensive conference day will cover the following topics:

     ·     Latest tech market developments, understanding global and local impacts on M&A
     ·     Recent troubles in the Baltic & Nordic banking sector: what effect on fintech businesses?
     ·     Board involvement in M&A: are we getting it right?
     ·     Non-traditional investment areas
     ·     Update on recent developments in Baltic M&A and PE
     ·     Case studies on recent important transactions in the Baltic Market

View the PROGRAMME for more detail.

For the tenth year in row M&A and private equity experts will be gathering at this annual Baltic event. According to participants’ feedback – networking with peers is one of the top features of the Forum. We also enjoy this part and offer our guests:

    ·     Baltic M&A and Private Equity Deal award ceremony
    ·     Networking reception in a relaxing atmosphere

You can find the list of the registered participants and information about speakers on the conference website.

Representatives of the Baltic venture capital associations enjoy an additional 15% discount on top of all provided price ranges. Make sure to write “M&ARiga” in the comments section. 

>> REGISTER HERE 

The Forum is organised by Sorainen and Latvian business daily Dienas bizness, in partnership with Baltic business dailies Verslo žinios (Lithuania) and Äripäev (Estonia) plus the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Associations.

EstVCA has elected Margus Uudam, founding partner at Karma Ventures, as a new Chairman. New Management Board of EstVCA, that was elected for the next 2 years, consists in addition to Margus now of:

Kristjan Kalda (BaltCap)
Kalmer Kikas (BPM Capital)
Viljar Arakas (Eften Capital)
Martin Hendre (Tera Ventures)
Sille Pettai (SmartCap)
Indrek Kasela (United Angels VC)
Joel Aasmäe (Trind Ventures)
Hendrik Reimand (Livonia Partners)
Antti Perli (Ellex)
Toomas Prangli (Sorainen)

Margus says that the focus of the new management board will be the continuous development of Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital ecosystem and marketing the Baltics to the global investors.

"Together with the government we have developed a very strong Private Equity & Venture Capital ecosystem and this has already shown quite remarkable results. Number of the investments has grown substantially, we have helped develop very strong companies and the supply of capital has improved on all the levels of a company development phases. Estonia and the Baltic states are on the rise to become the New-Nordics and continuous growth of the entire region depends on a very strong co-operation", said Margus.

Baltic Private Equity & Venture Capital market has grown seven-fold during the past seven years reaching €2,8 billion. For the growth to continue, stability of local investment climate has to be ensured.

"We will definitely focus on the problems and instability that arise from the upcoming pension reform. Planned reform will greatly impact the whole Private Equity & Venture Capital industry and we need to put a lot of effort to secure the development and competitiveness of our industry", Margus added.

EstVCA is the representative body of Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Industry and was established in 2009. Goal of EstVCA is to develop a sustainable and attractive ecosystem for the benefit of entrepreneurs, fund managers, institutional investors and to increase the output of innovative and high-growth potential companies in Estonian economy. EstVCA has 20 members and 25 Associate Members. Combined assets under management of Private Equity & Venture Capital houses is close to €2 billion.

Members of EstVCA are Ambient Sound Investments, BaltCap, BPM Capital, Change Ventures, Eften Capital, European Investment Fund, Kaamos Group, Karma Ventures, KredEx, LHV Asset Management, Livonia Partners, SmartCap, Superangel, Swedbank Investment Funds, Tera Ventures, Trind Ventures, United Angels VC, United Partners, UP Invest and Wellman.

EstVCA COVID-19 survey results: investors are ready to invest also at the time of crises

A COVID-19 impact survey conducted by the Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EstVCA) amongst its members revealed that private and venture capital funds in Estonia continue to invest in their portfolio companies and are ready to make new deals even in the time of crisis, even if more cautiously. 

According to the survey, 75% of private and venture capital fund managers confirmed that the runway of their portfolio companies is longer than six months and most of the funds are ready to continue investing. 

Half of the funds will continue to invest on the same basis as in the pre-crisis period, but some are adjusting their strategies. "Of course, the willingness of funds and angels to invest does not mean that all start-ups and growth companies significantly affected by the crisis will find a solution to their financing problems. The investment criteria of the funds are the same or even stricter,” said Margus Uudam, Chairman of EstVCA. 

The impact of the crisis for portfolio companies was assessed to being somewhat negative or neutral by 64% of respondents, 14% see also some potential positive impact and 22% of portfolio companies are affected in a severe negative way. 

EstVCA COVID-19 survey and its key findings in a nutshell: 

• The survey was conducted on the 1^st week of April 2020.
  
• 89% of PE/VC funds that are members of EstVCA participated in the survey.
  
• All the PE/VC funds in Estonia assure that the capitalisation for 3-6 months period is very good, and all the funds offer full support to their portfolios and continue their investment activities.
• 75% of respondents say that their runway is currently longer than 6 months, so in the nearby months all are well capitalised and in case of potential hardships, funds will find ways to assist their portfolio companies from their resources.
• The results of the survey prove that in case the crisis should last longer than 6 months, additional measures are needed to support the ecosystem in Estonia and EstVCA has for the matter compiled a special crisis team to elaborate potential means for the situation to be ready for a constructive dialogue with the state.

A selection of survey results:

The Management Board of Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA) appoints Kadri Lindpere as the new Managing Director as of May 2020. Kadri will be responsible for coordinating the daily operations of EstVCA working in close cooperation with the Management Board in executing the association's strategy both in local, regional and global level. 

Before joining EstVCA team, Kadri led the Marketing and Communication field in PwC Estonia and prior to that was head of the field at the leading Baltic law firm Ellex Raidla. She has also worked as Business Development and Communications lead at real estate group Arco Vara, managing the communication of firms' IPO process in 2008.  

Margus Uudam, the Chairman of the Management Board of EstVCA is excited to welcome a new professional in the team: “We have been actively operating on the market for more than ten years and the management has done a great job in building and developing the organisation. Now we see the next leap ahead of us in facing the challenges of turbulent times in economy as well as integrating our ecosystem further with regional and global spheres. Kadri has a very strong background in Business Development and Communications, which supports our strategy in every angle,” says Uudam. 

EstVCA is the representative body of Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Industry and was established in 2009. Goal of EstVCA is to develop a sustainable and attractive ecosystem for the benefit of entrepreneurs, fund managers, institutional investors and to increase the output of innovative and high-growth potential companies in Estonian economy. EstVCA has 20 members and 25 Associate Members. Combined assets under management of Private Equity & Venture Capital houses is close to €2 billion.  

Members of EstVCA are Ambient Sound Investments, BaltCap, BPM Capital, Change Ventures, Eften Capital, European Investment Fund, Kaamos Group, Karma Ventures, KredEx, LHV Asset Management, Livonia Partners, SmartCap, Superangel, Swedbank Investment Funds, Tera Ventures, Trind Ventures, United Angels VC, United Partners, UP Invest and Wellman.

Change Ventures led the $1.7M seed round investment in Estonian fintech askRobin who brings ‘fair credit’ to emerging markets

AskRobin, an Estonia-founded fintech that operates a financial services marketplace for “underbanked” customers in Latin America, has picked up $1.7 million in funding. 

The seed round is backed by VC funds Change Ventures, Vereeni Early Stage Fund, BENE Asia Capital, and Lemonade Stand. In addition, a number of tech entrepreneurs from Estonia participated, such as Ragnar Sass, co-founder of Pipedrive, and Taavi Tamkivi, founder of the anti-money laundering platform Salv. 

“We started in Mexico in late 2017, where we initially developed a FB Messenger chatbot to bring basic financial education to people,” says askRobin co-founder and CEO Rain Sepp (who previously spent 13 years working at digital lending startup Credit24). “However, we soon realised that we need to go the whole nine yards and make sure we get the lending companies to actually get interested in serving those people and making them better offers”. 

Since then, askRobin has evolved into something more comparable to Credit Karma in the U.K., which pairs free credit scoring with a marketplace of suitable financial products. “We bring our partner companies access to risk based customer segments, and get them competing for customers, resulting in improved product offers,” explains Sepp. This, he argues, is far better than the status quo. 

• Read more on the transaction in TechCrunch
• A great read - the investment story in askRobin by Yrjö Ojaaar, the investment partner of Change Ventures

Finnish startup Taimer raised 1M USD in the pre-seed funding round led by international VCs and the FiBAN syndicate. The funding will be used to develop more innovative business management solutions and for expansion in the Nordics and other selected markets.

PHOTO: From left- Fredi Palmgren, Eero Saarinen, Tero Alanen

The round was led by international venture capitalist Trind VC (Nordics) as the lead investor, TAO Ventures (Australia), and FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network), with participation from several other investing groups and angel investors from the UK, US and Finland. In addition, funding was also provided by Business Finland that supports innovative companies in Finland to go global. FiBAN’s Chair of the Board, Reima Linnanvirta has joined as Taimer’s Chair of the Board. 

Taimer is an all-in-one business management software that helps businesses simplify work, boost sales and grow effortlessly. Taimer is poised to change the way businesses use technology to manage sales, projects, and finances by offering easy-to-use software that has sales CRM, project management, collaboration, invoicing, time tracking, business intelligence reporting, and various other business functions seamlessly working in one centralized solution.  

• Read more HERE
  

For more information please contact: 

Ivar Siimar
Trind VC Partner
ivar@trind.vc

Brainbase Raises $8M Series A Led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Nosara Capital

• Read more on the investment HERE 

• Read more HERE

Another interesting insight in our DEAL TALKS series as Yrjö Ojasaar, Investment Partner of our member firm Change Ventures talks about leading the $1.7M seed round investment into Estonian fintech company askRobin. 

1. What makes askRobin unique?
A few words on their uniqueness/competitive edge?

askRobin is a marketplace for fast and fair financial services for the underbanked middle class in Mexico and Latin America. askRobin’s unique risk-based segmentation allows the lenders to lower their cost of acquisition and better quantify risk. For the consumer, this means lower rates and better terms on financial services.

2. How is the investment used?
What are they aiming to achieve with the investment now on board, e.g. name key milestones for the next 12 months?

askRobin will introduce its new risk-based segmentation tools to the existing 100 lending partners, then roll it out market-wide; also team will significantly expanding its sales and customer acquisition team, budget and strategies. 

3. Impact and diversity
How do you assess the impact of their business and how diverse is the team?

askRobin team is a very diverse mix of people both in gender as well as origin with team members from Estonia, Finland, Brazil and Mexico. askRobin’s platform aims to bring financial services for the underbanked middle class in Mexico and Latin America. Lower rates and better terms would have a dramatic impact on the lives of the families and small family businesses that traditional lenders refuse to serve.

Key advisors of the deal
Ragnar Sass and Taavi Tamkivi for being the first angel investors in, and first to transfer their investment money - something I am sure every CEO acutely appreciates.

Anu Oks - bringing together a group of EstBan angels to co-invest with - amazing how 11 angel investors got together in less than a week to execute a syndicated investment. 

Greete-Kristiine Kuru (Cobalt) and Maivi Ots (Eversheds) for handling the legal diligence and documentation. 

• Read more on the investment at Change Ventures' blog HERE 
  

The fund also becomes the first VC to join all three Baltic states venture capital associations

Following Change Ventures Fund II first close at €21M last October, the fund has completed the due diligence process with Europe’s best institutional investors in venture capital and are delighted that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently approved an €8M commitment to their fund, pending closing. This additional capital will automatically unlock matching capital already committed from the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund’s (EIF) InnovFinprogramme. As a result, this summer Change Ventures expects to complete the 2nd close of Fund II at close to €40M in commitments and to become the largest seed fund investing in startups today in the Baltic states.

Change Ventures started from day one with a focus on backing ambitious Baltic founders across all three states. As an extension to investing in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, they can back Baltic diaspora founders building their businesses globally. In order to participate more effectively in the venture capital industry in each of these states, they have now joined the VC associations in all three states — the first venture capital fund to do so. While the fund is registered in Estonia, they consider their home to be all three states and wish to contribute to the development of the industry and the startup ecosystem across the region. In Estonia, Change Ventures has supported and adopted the use of the standard investment templates to ensure straightforward, industry-standard terms for their investments and founders. In Latvia, they have collaborated regarding startup option reform and government relations. 

• Contact Change Ventures team HERE