Euregio Plus to launch €50m VC fund

Alessia Argentieri
26 August 2020

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Italian private equity firm Euregio Plus is preparing the launch of its debut fund, a venture capital vehicle with a €50m target.

Euregio Plus is backed by regional government entities Province Autonome di Bolzano e Trento and Regione Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol via Pensplan Centrum.

Euregio Plus I will be launched between Q3 2020 and Q1 2021 and will be dedicated to supporting the growth and expansion of European startups and SMEs.

It plans to raise capital from Italian and international institutional investors. Euregio Plus was originally planning to launch a €20-25m fund, but the initiative attracted the interest of several international investors and the firm decided to expand its project by increasing its target and geographical scope, according to Euregio CEO Sergio Lovecchio.

The fund will invest the majority of its capital in companies based in the north of Italy, primarily in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, but does not exclude investments in Austria and Germany.

The vehicle will deploy initial equity tickets of €200,000-2m per deal and will subsequently take part in some follow-on rounds with larger amounts to support the expansion plans of its portfolio companies. It will primarily back startups, but will also invest in some SMEs with high-growth potential, able to develop and further innovate their business model.

It will target technology startups operating across the fintech, digital and robotics segments, as well as companies active in the food, agri-tech and energy sectors.

Italian VC fundraising

While the Italian buyout industry has seen a substantial decrease in activity during the Covid-19 pandemic, the VC segment has been quite dynamic and has recorded strong dealflow and fund activity.

There were six VC funds that held a first or final closing in H1 2020, for combined capital of €434m. They included Programma 102, which closed on €100m – the vehicle invests in European digital and technology startups offering B2C and B2B services to the food, fashion, design, education, healthcare, logistics, travel and financial industries.

Furthermore, Eureka Venture held a €38m first close for its debut fund, Eureka Fund I – Technology Transfer, which will invest in seed and series-A rounds, targeting companies operating in the "deeptech" industry (companies founded upon substantial scientific advances and high-tech engineering innovation), primarily focused on the discovery and production of advanced materials.

Meanwhile, Primomiglio held a first close on €58m for Primo Space Fund, a vehicle dedicated to investing in space technology. The fund was officially announced in 2018 and launched in 2019 with the name of Astra Ventures. It has an €80m target and expects to hold a final close by the end of 2021.

In addition, Azimut launched Azimut Digitech Fund, a venture capital vehicle with a €50m target that invests in Italian B2B software startups, with a special focus on software-as-a-service operators, active across four technology segments: artificial intelligence; Internet of Things; cybersecurity; and blockchain.