DGAP-News: German Startups Group GmbH & Co. KGaA: 20181116 German Startups Group plans to sell specific shareholdings in 2019

+++ Press release +++

German Startups Group plans to sell specific shareholdings in 2019
 

- Proceeds of at least half its current market capitalization expected
- Overall, capital gains compared to the respective book values are likely
- Share buybacks intended
 

Berlin, 16 November 2018 - German Startups Group, a leading venture capital provider in Germany and Berlin-based digital agency with 150 employees, plans the sale of certain of its more mature stakes including two heavyweights in its portfolio for the year 2019, and has undertaken concrete steps to do so. There are tangible indications for the achievable prices. Management expects proceeds of at least half the company's current market capitalization from the sales in 2019 only. In some cases, it believes the realization of significant capital gains beyond the present book values to be likely.

Naturally, the sold stakes will only be named after closing. Even after selling the intended stakes the majority of the portfolio and of the focus investments would be maintained.

The negotiations about the potential acquisition of the majority stake in Exozet group with a specific address, announced in May to have commenced and in June to have been paused for the summer break, have not been resumed since significantly more attractive options have emerged, in the meantime. Their realization is not anticipated before mid-2019 and would not have any impact on the activity of Exozet, its customers and its employees.

As long as the GSG share price is significantly lower than the Net Asset Value (NAV) per share in the eyes of the management, it wants to use sale proceeds for further share buybacks of its own shares, subject to approval of the supervisory board, and fully exercise the legally permitted volume for the use of own shares under exclusion of subscription rights.

Investor Relations Contact
German Startups Group
Marcel Doeppes
ir@german-startups.com
www.german-startups.com

German Startups Group - We Love Startups!

The German Startups Group, a publicly traded company comprises one of the leading VC providers in Germany with a digital agency employing 150 staff in Berlin. With a focus on Germany's young, fast growing companies - so called startups - the company acquires majority and minority shareholdings by providing venture capital. The core investment focus is on those tech companies whose products or business models include disruptive innovation, allow for a high degree of scalability and are run by strong entrepreneurial management teams. Since it commenced operations in 2012, German Startups Group has built a diversified portfolio of stakes in such companies and has become the most active private venture capital investor in Germany (CB Insights 2015, Pitchbook 2016). With the launch of G|S Market(TM) via a wholly owned subsidiary German Startups Market GmbH, the company operates a secondary market platform for tech assets since June 2018. Its majority holding, German Startups Asset Management GmbH, will launch its own novel type VC funds in the future and provide SPVs for G|S Market(TM) on the acquirer side in order to enable several investors to acquire larger investment opportunities through pooled investments.

More information is available on our website at www.german-startups.com.