Gimv launches the Health & Care Fund to invest in the health and care sector of the future
Today Gimv announced that it is finalising the establishment of a new fund within its Health & Care platform. The fund will focus on growth companies in the Health & Care Services and Medtech sectors in order to invest in the development of innovative care concepts and the internationalisation of successful business models. The fund hereby responds to a number of big trends that are also a huge challenge to our society. Because of the fund's relevance to the local Health and Care sector, it is supported by the Flemish Government.
As a sponsor and key investor, Gimv's initial investment in this fund is EUR 50 million, with the Flemish Government also committing EUR 50 million through Gimv's reference shareholder, VPM. On top of this initial EUR 100 million, the fund is looking to attract extra resources from various institutional investors. A formal first closing is planned in the coming year.
Over the next six years, the fund aims to invest in 10 to 15 innovative companies in the Health & Care Services and Medtech sectors in Gimv's home markets, namely the Benelux, Germany and France. The amount per investment can be up to EUR 25 million, both in equity and quasi-equity. With a term of 12 years, the fund presents itself as a long-term partner for the projects it will invest in. The Gimv Health & Care team will be responsible for the management of the fund.
Chairman of the Gimv Board of Directors, Urbain Vandeurzen: "The challenges in the Health & Care sector are huge. The ageing population, a rising number of chronic diseases and better informed patients continue to push up healthcare demand and costs. This forces the Health & Care sector to find creative and innovative solutions. With the new fund, we want to encourage innovative companies and service providers in the sector to respond to this."
Gimv CEO, Koen Dejonckheere, on this new initiative: "Health & Care is one of the sectors central to Gimv's platform strategy. The launch of this fund is therefore completely in line with our strategy and complements Gimv's existing resources perfectly. It provides us with the critical mass and fire power we need to invest in the growth and internationalisation of innovative care concepts, with an ambition to lift these projects to the next level. The investment projects within this fund will be managed by the Health & Care platform's international investment team, led by Bart Diels."
He adds: "The fund is also very much in line with the Flemish policy in this regard and the objectives of Flanders' Care. We are therefore very pleased that the Flemish Government is investing EUR 50 million in this innovative initiative, which is a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the Health and Care sector."
Ingrid Lieten, Viceminister-president of the Flemish Government: "In challenging budgetary times it is important not to invest in innovation solely for the purposes of innovating but to invest in innovation as a problem solver for the major societal challenges. The Flemish Government continues to mobilize additional funds for investments in innovation, including innovation in healthcare in order to provide a focused response to the major societal challenges, such as ageing. This initiative fits perfectly with the objectives of Flanders' Care and our testing ground ‘Zorginnovatieruimte Vlaanderen’'. In order to be able to successfully market these promising projects we also need to rely on growth capital. With this Gimv-initiative, Flanders should be able to grow the number of bigger players in the market and also wants to capture and invest in successful initiatives created in neighbouring countries and to introduce them in Flanders. Moreover, Gimv will also respond to certain initiatives of the European Commission, which, through a ‘Knowledge Innovation Community’ are engaging in ‘Active and Healthy Ageing’."
The Health & Care fund is not Gimv's first project in this field. The Flemish Government's venture capital fund for biotech companies, Biotech Fonds Vlaanderen, is managed by Gimv. Gimv is also responsible for the management of two infrastructure funds (DG Infra+ and DG Infra Yield). In early 2009, Gimv established the Gimv-XL fund for investments in larger Flemish growth companies. Later that year, the Gimv-Agri+ Investment Fund was launched in cooperation with the famers' league Boerenbond. Lastly, in 2011, the Gimv Arkiv Tech Fund II was set up as part of the second ARKimedes arrangement.
This press release is for information only. This release must not be considered as an explicit or implicit offer or invitation to invest in the Gimv Health & Care fund or any other securities in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan or any other territory.