Mountain Cleantech backs Pessl Instruments

The VC invested through its Mountain Cleantech Fund II and holds a 30% stake after its growth capital investment. It came across the company at a fair and actively approached the owner. Mountain Cleantech injected a sum between €1-5m.

The additional financing will help the company improve its market position in the Americas and Africa. Pessl has a site in the US and plans to open bases in more countries. It also plans to develop additional products like onsite soil nutrient and animal behaviour analysis.

The investor is open to a further capital injection between €5-10m during the holding period. For the exit, which is planned in four to six years, the VC plans to merge Pessl with a larger competitor.

Mountain Cleantech is based in Zurich. With its Mountain Cleantech Fund II, it focuses on growth equity investments in German-speaking and adjacent regions. Its main investors are Ikea GreenTech and Austria Wirtschaftsservice.

Company
Pessl's 60-strong team develops internet-of-things products for the monitoring of plants and animals, such as climate monitoring devices and agricultural risk and irrigation management technology. It also provides weather stations, soil moisture monitoring devices and electronic insect traps. The company was founded in 1984 by its current CEO Gottfried Pessl. It is headquartered in Weiz, Austria, and sells its products to customers in 80 countries.

People
Jürgen Habichler is managing director at Mountain Cleantech and will chair Pessl's board of directors. Gottfried Pessl is the founder and CEO of Pessl.

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