Critical group promotes corporate fund to invest in start-ups

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Critical group promotes corporate fund to invest in start-ups

11 Dec 2009

Capital fund will raise 10 million Euros to support the launch of companies with a technological basis

Critical group announced today the constitution of Critical Ventures I, a venture capital fund meant for investment in companies with technological basis, at an early stage in their development. This fund will harbor, besides capital from Critical Group, capital from other financial investors, both national and international. This fund will help improve the capacity of the Critical group to finance projects for the commercialization of technology in the global market, technology which resulted from ideas studied in the scope of a group R&D effort (spin-off), or from "foreign" R&D coming from other companies or partner institutions (spin-in). Critical Ventures I assumes the form of a Corporate Capital Fund, and will vigorously support new opportunities for the development of technology and of high value added solutions.

The investment fund will start off with 10 million Euros which are meant to be invested in early-stage operations, meaning, to serve as Seed Capital to support Start-ups – financing companies at an early stage of setup or that had their operation start very recently, having therefore a very minimal sales volume; and investment in the maturing of high potential technological solutions. Occasionally the fund may invest in Late Venture operations, in other words, in companies or products with a bigger maturity, for example to launch new products/Projects or expand into new markets.

"The Portuguese market – even the European market – for risk capital is extremely limited in the 'early-stage' area, a factor which limits immensely the agility and the flexibility needed to take advantage, in an effective way, of the potential of technological solutions that our country is capable of producing", underlines Gonçalo Quadros, Critical SGPS’ Administrator, adding that "there is enormous talent that needs an appropriate context to be harnessed and put to the service of the model of development we want for Portugal. It's those talents and ideas from young entrepreneurs – first and foremost the ones we have at Critical – which we want to foster and support".

The ultimate objective is to pair up Critical's market, technical and technological experience with the capacity of the financial partners within this corporate background and, in that way create the right ecosystem for the production of smart-money. An important fact is that has been noted is that investors will always have a right of preference in financing at the later phases of development of the supported companies, a characteristic that improves the attractiveness of the investment fund.

Technological innovation, as an agent for the introduction of competitive advantage, is a pillar of Critical group's strategy. The constitution of Critical Ventures is "one firm step in the development strategy of Critical's project; aims to allow for our talents to have the opportunity to launch their technology and company and, in a timeframe of three to five years, to prove that they have what it got to make it in the market", underlines Diamantino Costa, Critical Ventures' Administrator.

About Critical SGPS
Critical SGPS is a holding that groups the companies belonging to the Critical Group. Besides Critical Software, the portfolio includes Critical Links, Critical Materials, Critical Health, Critical Manufacturing and Critical Move.

About Critical Ventures SCR SA
Critical Ventures is a venture capital company, pre-registered at CMVM and held at 100% by Critical SGPS.