Taaleri prepares bioindustry-focused fund launch

Auri Aittokallio
13 May 2021

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Finnish financial services group Taaleri is gearing up for the launch later this year of an тЌ80m fund focused on the bioindustry sector, investment director Pasi Tyyvi told Unquote.

Taaleri is holding preliminary talks with potential investors for the fund, Tyyvi said. The final fund size and closing date are not yet decided, he added.

Tyyvi expects Finnish tier-2 institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals to invest in the fund. Different investor groups will be set up through feeder funds to match different ticket sizes.

Taaleri is planning to handle the fundraising process mostly internally, but still in co-operation with Aktia Bank, as part of the strategy outlined by the parties upon closing the sale of Taaleri's wealth management business to Aktia.

The planned fund's life structure is 10 years and the average holding period per investment will be five to eight years, Tyyvi said. The fund has a team of four, but will recruit more people over time.

The vehicle will target approximately five investments in total, Tyyvi said. It will invest in the broader bioindustry space – rather than focus on any specific sub-sectors – to diversify the project risk related to new technologies, he said.

The fund will typically invest €5-25m and will look at both majority and minority situations.

Targets must have a proven bioindustry technology for the development and production of resource-efficient and sustainable biofuels or biomaterials for the replacing of fossil-based materials, Tyyvi said. Examples of interesting sub-segments include the sustainable fertilising space, construction materials, reused fabrics, renewable energy, and textiles. Its primary investment geographies are the Nordic countries and the rest of Europe.

Taaleri already has plans to raise a second bioindustry fund in 2023, to focus on a single sub-sector, Tyyvi said. The size of Fund II will depend on its focus, but is likely to be approximately double the size of Fund I, he added.

Taaleri is headquartered in Helsinki and has €1.7bn in assets under management in its private equity funds and co-investments, according to its website.