Portfolio Update

RNS Number : 1372O

TMT Investments PLC

28 May 2020

 

28 May 2020

TMT INVESTMENTS PLC

("TMT" or the "Company")

Portfolio update

TMT Investments PLC (AIM: TMT.L), the venture capital company investing in high-growth technology companies, is pleased to announce the following developments in the Company's portfolio since the publication of the Company's 2019 Annual Results on 16 April 2020.

Bolt

TMT's portfolio company Bolt (formerly known as Taxify), a leading international ride-hailing and transportation company ( www.bolt.eu ), announced, on 26 May 2020, that it had successfully raised €100 million (US$110 million) in the form of a convertible note from Naya Capital Management (the "CLN Issue").  The convertible note features a conversion cap of €1.7 billion (c.US$1.87 billion), which TMT notes is significantly higher than Bolt's equity valuation following completion of its last funding round in June 2019. TMT also notes that the conversion cap does not imply a new firm equity valuation level and hence TMT has not adjusted the fair value of TMT's interest in Bolt.

The proceeds of the CLN Issue will be used to finance Bolt's growth and to take advantage of the recovering demand for transportation, which Bolt is seeing in its network, operating in more than 150 cities across Europe and Africa, with more than 30 million users globally.  According to Bolt, its revenue is now recovering rapidly from its lowest point almost two months ago, resulting from the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Bolt believes there is a good opportunity to emerge even stronger in Europe and in Africa over the next 12 months, and this funding will enable it to support such growth.

Since April 2020, Bolt has expedited the opening of new services such as food delivery, which now covers 12 countries, and a new courier service.

General Portfolio Update

TMT has a highly diversified portfolio of over 30 companies focused mainly around big data/cloud, e-commerce, marketplaces and SaaS (software-as-a-service) solutions.

We are pleased to note that our five core holdings (Bolt, Backblaze, Depositphotos, Pipedrive and Scentbird) have performed well during the COVID-19 pandemic to date.  These are well-established, more mature businesses, with globally diversified revenues, strong cash reserves and tens of thousands of customers, and account for approximately 75% of the Company's NAV.  As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bolt naturally suffered a fall in user rides at various periods in different cities across its global network, though user ride numbers are now recovering, as noted above.

A number of companies in our portfolio have experienced very strong growth as a result of significant increases in home working and larger numbers of citizens staying at home globally, and have attracted investment at higher conversion caps via convertible notes in recent weeks.  At the same time, a small number of companies that are more exposed to physical interaction, are naturally experiencing some challenges and are adapting their business models as a result.

Alexander Selegenev, Executive Director of TMT Investments, commented :

"It is pleasing to see that, despite volatile market conditions, Bolt has successfully raised €100 million to finance further expansion, underlining its position as one of the most competitive and innovative players in global mobility. In parallel, investors are increasing their attention to companies with business offerings that are generating strong revenue growth as a result of societal changes resulting from Covid-19. A number of other companies in our portfolio have benefited from this increase in investor interest and have taken advantage to raise capital for further expansion at higher conversion caps via convertible notes in recent weeks".

"We continue to seek to identify attractive investment opportunities and will keep the market updated of any developments in this regard."

For further information contact :

TMT Investments PLC Alexander Selegenev Executive Director www.tmtinvestments.com	[phone] (Computershare - Company Secretary) [e-mail]
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) Richard Tulloch / James Dance	[phone]
Hybridan LLP (Broker) Claire Louise Noyce	[phone]
Kinlan Communications David Hothersall	[phone] [e-mail]

About TMT Investments PLC

TMT Investments PLC invests in high-growth technology companies across a number of core specialist sectors and has a significant number of Silicon Valley investments in its portfolio.  Founded in 2010, TMT has invested in over 55 companies to date and has net assets of US$102m as of 31 December 2019.  The Company's objective is to generate an attractive rate of return for shareholders, predominantly through capital appreciation.  The Company is traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

www.tmtinvestments.com .

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