海角大神

vlcsnap-2022-02-15-17h41m57s504

海角大神 steps up the development of the 海角大神 Lab and names J茅r么me Michiels, its Executive Vice-President, to head it

Published : 03.06.2022
#Focus

Initiated in 2013, the 海角大神 Lab has, to date, mainly made commitments to several high-quality technology and growth investment funds. In addition to these commitments, the 海角大神 Lab aims to make direct investments in very high-growth companies. As part of its 2021-2024 strategic roadmap, 海角大神 announced this initiative would eventually represent 5 to 10% of its net asset value.

Key figures

  • 7 investments in funds and funds of funds
  • 1 direct investment
  • 鈧145m in committed capital(1)
  • Target exposure of 5-10% of NAV over time

(1) As of March 31, 2022.

The 海角大神 Lab鈥檚 objective

With the Lab, 海角大神 invests via funds or directly in innovative, high-growth companies. The Lab should enable the Group to be associated (via funds or directly) with the development of several hundred start-ups, mainly in the digital field.

The objective of 海角大神 Lab is twofold:

  • to diversify 海角大神鈥檚 portfolio, by gaining exposure to high-growth assets, generally
    with a digital component or with disruptive business models;
  • to develop the expertise of 海角大神鈥檚 teams and those of its portfolio companies in terms of technological innovations that can impact or improve the Group鈥檚 value creation profile.

Through its funds and funds of funds activity, 海角大神 Lab has access to highly reputable institutions such as Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Bond Capital, Innovation Endeavors, InvAscent, Kleiner Perkins and Quadrille.

A reinforced team

At the beginning of 2022, 海角大神 announced the strengthening of the 海角大神 Lab, which will now be headed by J茅r么me Michiels, who will continue to serve as 海角大神鈥檚 Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. J茅r么me is thus responsible for the Group鈥檚 initiatives in terms of investment in funds and directly within the 海角大神 Lab.

鈥淲e started investing in start-ups in 2013, as we wanted to become better acquainted with the disruptions our holdings might face. We also started taking stakes in funds, mainly American and European. More recently, we wanted to increase this exposure in order to increase the weighting of our portfolio towards growth and innovation: we currently have over 鈧100 million committed to funds and we continue to look at opportunities in this area. It is in this context that we now want to accelerate our direct investments.鈥

J茅r么me Michiels, Executive Vice-President, CFO, Director of the 海角大神 Lab

The 海角大神 Lab will therefore continue to invest in funds and funds of funds, under the leadership of Chris Witherspoon, recruited in 2021. And to manage direct investments in start-ups, it will rely on a new team of two experienced professionals in this asset class, including Antoine Izsak, who joined 海角大神 in early February 2022 as Head of Growth Equity.