Highest investment level on record for Almi Invest
Almi Invest increased its level of investment in 2020 by investing 316 million Swedish kronor (SEK) in a total of 175 companies, of which 45 constituted first-time investments. The sales of 28 companies, in full or in part, resulted in proceeds to the value of 204 million kronor. A successful listing of textile recycling company Renewcell lead to a tenfold increase in the value of Almi Invest's holdings.
During the financial year of 2020, Almi Invest invested record sums to the value of 316 million kronor in 130 existing companies and 45 new portfolio companies. The bulk of investments was made within the technology sector, followed by life sciences and industrials.
Almi Invest's Greentech fund, which invested 87 million kronor in 15 companies, invested larger amounts than the rest of Almi Invest. Among the new investments, Graphmatech, Spowdi and Bower (previously known as PantaPå) were of particular note.
Divestments valued at 204 million kronor were also undertaken. Of 28 companies, there were complete divestments of 20 companies, including Cartana, Maintmaster and Netrounds.
Cartana, which provides technology to map the brain using cellular analysis and image data, was sold to the listed American biotechnology company 10x Genomics. Maintmaster, which is developing a cloud-based maintenance system for industrial companies, was sold to Monterro, the leading investor in B2B software companies in the Nordic region. Netrounds, which has developed its own test system for network operators and larger companies' IT departments, was sold to the listed American company Juniper Networks.
The multi-million listing of Renewcell, which has developed a chemical process to recycle textiles, received significant attention. Renewcell reprocesses textiles acquired from the waste and recycling streams in order to achieve circularity. Almi Invest, which invested in the company through its Greentech fund in 2019, owns 3.3 percent, which at the start of 2021 equalled a value of about 250 million kronor.
- Having recently taken on the position of CEO, it's highly satisfying to be able to state the importance of Almi Invest's role in the Swedish startup sector, not least during the corona pandemic, said Almi Invest CEO Joachim Karlsson.