Siena aims to hold new VC secondaries fund first close in late 2023 or early 2024

Agne Mazeike
29 August 2023

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Siena, an Estonian venture capital (VC) investor, is aiming to launch its second vehicle for VC secondary investments with a first close in late 2023 or in early 2024, general partner Lauri Isotamm told this news service.

The firm is talking to larger institutional investors with a view to securing a cornerstone investor for its Siena Secondary Fund II, which will target EUR 30m-EUR 50m, Isotamm said on the sidelines of the Baltic VCA Summit in Pärnu, Estonia on Thursday (24 August).

The size of the fund will depend on investors' interest, Isotamm said, adding that it is still in the early stages of the fundraising process. The sponsor also has ongoing discussions with pension funds, family offices and private individuals for it, he added.

Siena expects the final close in at least a year from the first close of its second fund, Isotamm said, adding that its legal advisor is Eversheds Sutherland.

The vehicle will aim to build a portfolio of 17-20 companies in the Baltics, Nordics and CEE markets within a three-year investment period, Isotamm said, adding that its lifecycle will be seven years. Its sweet spot investment ticket is expected to be EUR 3m, he said.

The sector-agnostic fund will target minority stakes in tech-enabled companies with more than EUR 10m annual sales and 50% annual growth rate, Isotamm said. While the prospective targets do not have to be profitable, they need to have at least one Tier 1 investor or someone to drive an exit within a three-to-five-year horizon, he added.

Typically, Siena acquires stakes from founders, who need liquidity; early or former employees; early or angel investors; or in cases when liquidity is needed for an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), Isotamm said.

Debut fund
Siena launched its debut Siena Secondary Fund I in early 2021, which raised EUR 20m including two co-investment vehicles, Isotamm said. Its lifecycle will run until early 2028, and could be extended by up to two years, as reported.

The debut fund has nine companies in its portfolio and expects to invest in another two by the end of its investment period at the end of December 2023 at the latest, Isotamm said.

It has not yet completed any exits, Isotamm said, adding that its exits are expected via M&A situations or IPOs, depending on market conditions.

Siena's Fund I investments include Bolt, an Estonian mobility service provider; Testlio, a Palo Alto, California-headquartered mobile app testing company; Starship Technologies, a San Francisco-based robotics company; Kry, a Swedish digital healthcare provider; TransferGo, a Lithuania and UK-based fintech; Veriff, an Estonian verification service provider; Booksy, a Chicago, Illinois-headquartered booking solution for beauty, wellness, and health services; Printify, a Latvia and US-based print-on-demand platform; and Oura, a Finnish healthtech company, according to Isotamm and Siena's website.