The information contained in this announcement is restricted and is not for publication, release or distribution in the United States of America, any member state of the European Economic Area (other than the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland), Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited
11 December 2019
Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited (the "Company")
Portfolio Update
· Investment in FinanceApp AG (wefox Group)
· Acquisition of additional shares in Graphcore Limited
· Update on portfolio composition
Investment in FinanceApp AG ("wefox Group")
The Company is pleased to announce an investment of €14.4 million, as part of a funding round conducted by wefox Group. Other investors in the round include OMERS Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Mubadala Ventures. The Company invested by way of a convertible loan note.
wefox Group was founded in Berlin in 2015 and has already established itself as one of Europe's largest and fastest growing insurtech assets. The wefox Group consists of two subsidiaries: wefox and ONE.
· wefox is Europe's largest digital insurance platform with significant existing scale in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The wefox platform enables over 350,000 customers, 1,500 insurance broker agents and 300 insurance providers to transact and manage insurance products digitally. The wefox app and website acts as a digital wallet, where consumers can store details of their insurance policies, and also allows third-party insurance companies and brokers to achieve efficiencies through a high degree of automation.
· ONE was launched in February 2018 and is a fully digital insurance company distributing private liability and household policies in Germany. ONE is fully integrated with wefox and leverages the platform's distribution capability and data sets to deliver best-in-class loss ratios and customer acquisition cost.
This funding round follows a successful Series B raise of US$125m in March 2019. wefox Group will use the proceeds of both rounds to consolidate broker pools in existing markets and for expansion across Europe, Asia and the US.
Nick Williamson, co-portfolio manager, comments:
"The insurance industry is ripe for disruption and wefox Group is well placed to transform the sector through its digital proposition. The wefox Group management is incredibly ambitious, evidenced by the impressive progress made to date, and we look forward to working with them."
Acquisition of additional shares in Graphcore Limited
In accordance with the intentions announced at the time of the recent Placing, the Company also confirms that it has acquired an additional £11.6 million holding in Graphcore Limited from the open-ended UK small- and mid-cap equity funds managed by the Company's Investment Adviser, Merian Global Investors (UK) Limited.
Update on portfolio composition
Following the completion of the wefox Group investment and the acquisition of additional shares in Graphcore Limited, the Company will be approximately 75% fully invested.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Merian Global Investors: Amelie Shepherd
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+44 (0) 20 7332 7500
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Liberum: Gillian Martin / Owen Matthews
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+44 (0) 20 3100 2000 |
Maitland Administration (Guernsey) Limited: Elaine Smeja |
+44 (0) 1481 749364 |
LEI: 213800F9SQ753JQHSW24
A copy of this announcement will be available on the Company's website at https://www.merian.com/chrysalis/. Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content on any website accessible from hyperlinks on its website for any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in the Company.
This announcement may include "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to the Company's products and services) are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and accordingly the Company's actual future financial results and operational performance may differ materially from the results and performance expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These factors include but are not limited to those described in the formal Prospectus. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actual results or any change in the assumptions, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Listing Rules or Prospectus Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority or other applicable laws, regulations or rules.