Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a publicly listed VC firm that backs early stage digital firms, has published a 6 month update on performance, ending September 30, 2022.
Molten said that its gross portfolio value has declined to £1,450 million versus March at £1.532 million. Net assets have dropped to £1,280 million from £1,434 million versus March. NAV per share went to 837p to 937p in March.
Martin Davis, CEO at Molten Ventures, issued the following comment:
“Molten has not been immune from the challenging market conditions for technology companies worldwide. Wider macroeconomic factors – rising inflation and global interest rates – have impacted public markets and particularly the valuation of technology stocks and, in turn, this has fed through into the private arena where valuations have also declined, and investment capital has slowed. However, our portfolio has demonstrated strong revenue growth and considerable relative valuation resilience, particularly compared to the performance of some of the listed technology stocks and indices such as NASDAQ.
At Molten, we are active managers working closely with our portfolio. We continue to surround our best companies with knowledge and relationships grounded in decades of operating experience. This, combined with our adaptable platform and focus on preserving capital will continue to serve us well through this stage of the cycle. I am firmly of the belief our portfolio will continue innovating to disrupt the future and that we are well set up to identify strong opportunities within the down market.”
Molten pointed to the following “highlights” during the six months stating it had deployed £112 million in money well on its way to a full year target of £150 million
Molten said that it made five primary investments with combined investment amount of £56 million, principally closing investments agreed in the prior year, while more recently continuing to invest in follow-on opportunities in the existing portfolio. The invested amount also includes drawdowns by Fund of Funds and Earlybird. A further £17m was invested via the EIS/VCT funds.
Molten also committed to 10 new seed funds via their seed Fund of Funds programme, bringing the overall seed portfolio to 67 funds.
Cash proceeds from realisations during the period were reported at £13 million, predominantly generated by selling down some of the shares held in publicly-listed UiPath as well as a distribution from Earlybird’s Digital East Fund relating to Minit B.V.
In September 2022, Molten Ventures agreed a new £150 million debt facility with JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. and Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited. The facility is made up of a £90 million term loan and a revolving credit facility of up to £60 million which are secured against various assets and LP interests in the Group.
The debt facility is expected to be utilised for investment and corporate purposes and repays of the company’s existing £65 million facility with SVB and Investec.
Loss after tax was reported at -£155 million.
Fleetcore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FLT), a global payments company, announced on 21 October 2022, that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire portfolio company, Roomex, a European online B2B accommodation platform.
Shares in Molten have declined around 57% year to date.
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