GROW Molten Ventures Plc

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

Exit, share buyback commencement and new debt facility

Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high-growth digital technology businesses, today provides the following update.

Key highlights are:

• The acquisition of Endomagnetics (‘Endomag’) by Hologic, Inc has now closed
• Commencement of £10 million Share buyback programme
• The Company has agreed a new debt facility of £180 million for three years from September 2024 to replace the existing £150 million facility which was entering its final year

Endomag Exit

Further to the announcement of 12 July in respect of the acquisition of medical technology company Endomag by global leader in women’s health Hologic, Inc, the regulatory review has now been completed and the deal has now closed. Endomag is a medical technology company, based in Cambridge, devoted to improving the global standard of care in breast cancer. Molten first invested in Endomag in 2018 with further capital invested to support its growth in 2020, alongside capital from Molten’s EIS and VCT funds. Transaction proceeds of approximately $46 million are modestly in excess of Molten’s holding value of £35 million and will deliver a 3.9x multiple on invested capital.

Share Buyback Programme

The announced realisations of Perkbox, Graphcore and Endomag deliver aggregate proceeds of over £70 million, demonstrating good progress towards the anticipated £100 million of realisations this financial year. In accordance with the capital allocation policy outlined in the Company’s final results on 12 June, a further announcement has been released today to commence a share buyback programme for £10 million.

New Debt Facility

The Company is pleased to announce that it has agreed a new £180 million net asset value (“NAV”) facility with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPM”) and HSBC Innovation Banking Limited (“HSBCIB”) (the “New Debt Facility”).

The New Debt Facility will be effective from 7th September 2024 and comprises a £120 million term loan drawn on day one and a revolving credit facility (“RCF”) of up to £60 million, both with a three year tenor, in place of the existing £150 million facility with JPM and HSBCIB (the “Current Facility”).

As is the case with the Current Facility, the draw down on the New Debt Facility is also determined with reference to the value of the Company’s investment portfolio and secured against various assets, LP interests and bank accounts in the Group.

Drawdown of the RCF component of the New Debt Facility is subject to a maximum loan to value ratio of 12.5%, whilst the interest rate remains at SONIA plus a margin of 5.5% per annum. The value of the portfolio will continue to be subject to periodic independent third-party valuation, and the New Debt Facility will be used to repay in full the £90 million drawn term loan component of the Current Facility, which is entering its final year, and for investment and corporate purposes.

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

“Today’s confirmation of our exit from Endomag takes us to over £70m of the £100m in realisations we anticipate for the current financial year, which underpins our stated capital allocation strategy, and in particular the buyback which we are commencing today. We are delivering what we said we will deliver, and our new debt facility shows that we are doing so on the basis of prudent capital management. Taken together, all of this demonstrates why we have confidence in our net asset value and we look forward to providing further updates to our shareholders.”

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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/