Motive bolsters VC arm with embedded/capital acquisition

The deal, expected to close at year-end, helps Motive Ventures build a stage-agnostic investment firm focused solely on financial technology, according to a press release. The VC practice will now have a presence across three finance technology cities: London, Berlin and New York.

A source close to the situation told Unquote that the venture practice allows the GP to back emerging business models and acquire different talent to bolster its brand. Motive Ventures closed its debut fund on approximately USD 200m aggregate in 2022, said the source, adding that the firm has no further M&A plans for the VC arm.

Motive Partners, which last year formed a strategic relationship with Apollo, launched Motive Ventures in December 2021. The VC arm is led by Mariano Belinky, formerly CEO of Santander Asset Management and founder of Santander's venture capital business.

Motive Ventures has invested in five companies to date including California-based Anchorage, a digital assets record-keeping and document storage business, invested in June 2022.

The VC strategy targets early-stage investments, while Motive Capital Funds invest across growth and buyout. The GP’s strategies focus exclusively on financial technology investments across North America and Europe. Following the acquisition, the combined entity will have 14 employees.

The GP’s buyout fund, Motive Capital Fund II, held a final close in July 2020 on USD 1.8bn, surpassing its target of USD 1.5bn. The vehicle aims to make 15 to 18 deals in total, with a 60:40 ratio of North American to European deals, according to Unquote Data.

Hengeler Mueller and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher advised Motive Ventures, while P+P Poellath + Partners advised embedded/capital.

Company
Founded in 2021, embedded/capital is an early-stage venture capital firm typically investing in pre-seed, seed and Series A rounds. It has 11 employees and is led by founder Ramin Niroumand and Michael Hock, fintech business creators and operators turned investors. At their previous firm, Berlin-based finleap, they built 15 independent companies, collectively worth around EUR 3bn, including two unicorns: Germany-based Solarisbank and insurtech Clark.

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