The Latvian Business Angels Network (LatBAN) and the Latvian Private and Venture Capital Association (LVCA) have determined the winners of the “Investor of the Year 2021” award for the most significant investments in Latvia last year.
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Investors Ģirts Līcis, Kārlis Cerbulis and Uldis Cērps received the award “Investment of the Year” in the category of commercial angels for the amount of investment and the most promising forecast for a joint investment of 150,000 euros in the new company “WeedBot”, which develops agricultural robots for the British market. Bregal Sagemount Investment Recognized as “Investment of the Year” in Legal and Institutional InvestorsPrintful“, which allowed the company to reach the value of a billion dollars and the status of Latvia ‘s first unicorn.
LatBAN and LVCA event “Investor of the Year” has existed since 2015. “Investor of the Year 2021” is organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics and the Development Financial Institution “Deep“and co – financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
Kristīne Tarvida, CEO of LatBAN, says: “We believe that thanks to the triumph of Printful, it will not be long before the next unicorns from Latvia appear. There are already several potential candidates in line. Last year, business angels invested 2.6 million euros in start-ups, mainly IT “We are looking at this year with cautious optimism – Latvian start-ups have access to investor financing or smart money with added value provided by investors’ knowledge, business experience and lessons learned over the years in the domestic and foreign markets.”
Winners of “Investor of the Year 2021” in the categories of business angels:
– “Investment of the Year” on the amount of investment and the most promising future forecast: Ģirts Līcis, Kārlis Cerbulis and Uldis Cērps for a joint investment of 150,000 euros in the new company “WeedBot”, which develops agricultural robots for the British market;
– “Most profitable investment of the year” for the most profitable investment in terms of return on investment and in absolute terms from the amount earned by the project: Voldemārs Brēdiķis and Uldis Dzērve for investment in the live translation platform “Interactio”, which supports face-to-face and online activities and can be integrated into third party platforms. Interactio already operates in 111 countries. The investment achieved a tenfold return in a year and a half;
– “Greenest investment of the year” for the largest investment with the most positive impact on the environment: Capitalia Co-Investment Fund and Juris Grišins for investment in wind turbine inspection, maintenance and service company Aerones, which uses robotic solutions, saving resources, reducing repairs time and helping to increase the amount of energy produced;
– “Industry Supporter of the Year”: Httpool for supporting the co-organization of the Baltic Business Investors’ Conference “Business Angel Camp” in Latvia, which brought together investors from all over the Baltics and Europe, and for making a significant contribution to supporting the growth of Latvian start-ups through digital marketing.
Kristīne Bērziņa, Chairman of the Board of LVCA, points out: “Latvia’s private capital market is clearly strengthening. In 2021, growth was observed both in the activities of local funds and in foreign funds. Change Ventures became the largest seed capital fund in the Baltics. Livonia Partners, the manager of Livonia Partners, set up the largest private equity fund in Latvia to date, several real estate funds registered in Latvia, and funds registered in Latvia invested three times as much in companies as in the previous year. Ventures “,” Apollo Funds “,” Bregal Sagemount “,” Partners Group “, investments in Latvian companies.”
“Investor of the Year” winners – legal and institutional investors and consultants:
– “Annual Investment” for investment volume and future forecast: “Bregal Sagemount” for “Printful” investment, which allowed the company to reach billions of dollars in value and so-called unicorn status;
– “Annual sales” on the volume, results and impact of the transaction on the development of the growth capital sector: Livonia Partners on the sale of shares in its portfolio company “Santa Monica Networks” to Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT);
– “Annual Financial Adviser” on the scope, outcome and significance of the advice provided to investors:
Superia for advising Livonia Partners on the sale of Santa Monica Networks LMT; “EKJU” company management consultations when buying a company from “BaltCap” and its founders; “Utilitas” consultations regarding the acquisition of the “Tārgale” wind farm project and consultations regarding the acquisition of “Primekss” from the “Green Gateway Fund”;
– “Legal Adviser of the Year 2021”: “Ellex Klavins” for advising “Printful”, attracting investment from “Bregal Sagemount”, advising “Livonia Partners” on “Santa Monica Networks” and assisting “SG Capital Partners Fund I” in connection with the logistics complex purchase in Riga.
After Ministry of Economy The initiative was also awarded a joint LatBAN and LVCA “Growth Award” to a company that has grown with the help of business angels and / or private equity funds and whose significant growth has resulted in new jobs created in Latvia, taxes paid and other positive effects on the Latvian economy. The award went to Lokalise this year.
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