12 July 2024

Molten Ventures plc
("Molten Ventures", “Molten”, “the "Group" or the "Company")

Exit and Investment Update

Step-up in realisations coming through, above holding value

Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high-growth digital technology businesses, today provides an update on recent developments in its portfolio.

Key highlights are:

• Exit from Graphcore via its acquisition by SoftBank
• Acquisition of Perkbox by Great Hill Partners now closed
• The acquisition of Endomagnetics (‘Endomag’) by Hologic, Inc continuing through the closing processes
• All three exits reinforce the rigour of the Molten valuation process, underpinning Molten’s net asset value (‘NAV’)
• Isar Aerospace closes £220m Series C round
• RavenPack raises $20m to launch new AI platform Bigdata.com

 

Exits

GRAPHCORE

As announced by Graphcore earlier today, the company has been acquired by SoftBank. Molten has realised a total return of $26m, in line with its Group holding value. Molten first invested in Graphcore in 2016 as part of the company’s Series A and further supported the business in subsequent funding rounds. At a 0.9x multiple on invested capital, the majority of the cost has been returned which demonstrates the benefit of downside protection with preference shares.

Graphcore is a machine intelligence semiconductor company, which develops Intelligent Processing Units (‘IPUs’) that enable world-leading levels of AI computing. Graphcore will continue to operate under the Graphcore name, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank, with its head office remaining in Bristol and offices in Cambridge, London, Gdansk and Hsinchu.

PERKBOX

Further to the announcement of 18 March, the acquisition of Perkbox, a British-based employee benefits and reward platform, by Great Hill Partners, a US-based private equity firm, has closed. The award-winning platform has been a portfolio company since Molten first invested in 2016. Further capital was invested to support the growth of Perkbox from 2017 to 2019. Cash proceeds of approximately £18m, will be received in circa 60 days once released from escrow. This is above the Molten holding value of £16.3m and delivers a 1.3x multiple on invested capital.

ENDOMAG

Further to the announcement of 30 April in respect of the acquisition of medical technology company Endomag by global leader in women’s health Hologic, Inc, the regulatory review, working capital and other customary closing adjustments remain on track. As previously announced and subject to minor adjustments, this deal also values Molten's stake in Endomag modestly above its Group holding value of £34.7 million. At the current holding value this would deliver a 3.7x multiple on invested capital.

The three realisations provide a cross section of the portfolio returns and add to the over £520m of realisations by the Company since 2016.

In accordance with the capital allocation policy outlined in the Company’s final results on 12 June, a further update will be provided on the allocation of a minimum of 10% of the proceeds from the above realisations to share buybacks, once the funds have been received by the Company.

 

Core Portfolio Investments

ISAR AEROSPACE

In June, core portfolio company ISAR Aerospace announced the closing of its Series C round raising £220m. ISAR Aerospace is a German launch service provider for small and medium-sized satellites. The funds will be used to build a bigger, fully automated factory near Munich to produce at least 40 of its Spectrum rockets a year by the end of the decade.

RAVENPACK

In July, Core Portfolio company RavenPack, a leading big data analytics provider for hedge funds and banks, has raised $20m from technology advisory and investment firm GP Bullhound as the company aims to accelerate the development and launch of RavenPack’s new AI platform, Bigdata.com, enhancing decision-making for leading financial professionals.

 

Martin Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Molten Ventures, commented:

“As we anticipated at the time of our recent trading update and final results, we are seeing a step-up in realisations, most recently with our exit from Graphcore and the previously announced Perkbox and Endomag transactions. These realisations and the fact that Core Portfolio companies ISAR Aerospace and Ravenpack are attracting investment, even in an environment which is still challenging for fundraising, all demonstrate the high quality of our portfolio. More importantly, the valuation of recent exits underscores the rigour of our valuation methodology and should give further confidence to investors in our net asset value.”

 

-ENDS-

Enquiries:

 

Molten Ventures plc Martin Davis (Chief Executive Officer) Ben Wilkinson (Chief Financial Officer)	+44 (0)20 7931 8800 ir@molten.vc
Deutsche Numis Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker  Simon Willis Jamie Loughborough Iqra Amin	+44 (0)20 7260 1000
Goodbody Stockbrokers Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker, Euronext Dublin Sponsor Don Harrington Dearbhla Gallagher William Hall	+44 (0) 20 3841 6202
Powerscourt Public relations Elly Williamson	+44 (0)7970 246 725 molten@powerscourt-group.com

 

 

About Molten Ventures

 

Molten Ventures is a leading venture capital firm in Europe, developing and investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We inject visionary companies with energy to help them to transform and grow. This energy comes in many forms - capital, of course, but also knowledge, experience, and relationships. We believe it is our role to support the entrepreneurs who will invent the future, and that future is being built, today, in Europe.

As at 31 March 2024, Molten Ventures had a diverse portfolio with shareholdings in 118 companies, 20 of which represent our Core holdings and account for 62% of the Gross Portfolio Value. Our Core companies include Thought Machine, Coachhub, Aiven, Ledger and Aircall. We invest across four sectors: Enterprise Technology, Hardware and Deeptech, Consumer Technology, and Digital Health and Wellness, with highly experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in each. We look for high-growth companies operating in new markets, with high potential for global expansion, strong IP, powerful technology, and strong management teams to deliver success. We also look for businesses with the potential to generate strong margins to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in substantial addressable markets

A member of the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 250, Molten Ventures provides a unique opportunity for public market investors to access these fast-growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with limited liquidity. Since our IPO in June 2016, we have deployed over £1bn capital into fast growing tech companies and have realised over £520m to 31 March 2024. For more information, go to https://www.moltenventures.com/