Touch Ventures (ASX:TVL) - an investment vehicle part owned by Afterpay (ASX:APT) has completed a $100m IPO (Image via Getty)
IPO Watch: Afterpay-backed investment vehicle Touch Ventures set to list on ASX on Wednesday
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Afterpay backed investment fund Touch Ventures (ASX:TVL) is set to join the ASX on Wednesday.
Touch Ventures raised $100 million at 40 cents a share and is set to be capitalised at $285.3 million on its ASX debut.
It was formally launched in late 2019 and was 44% owned by Afterpay (ASX:APT) although it had other shareholders too including Alex Waislitz and Duncan Saville.
Afterpay will hold 24.3% after completion of the deal, and the two companies have a formal collaboration agreement whereby Afterpay could refer potential investment opportunities to Touch Ventures.
TVL has made five investments prior to the release of its prospectus, totalling $75.4 million to date and it hopes to expand the portfolio over time. These included:
- Happay – a China focused BNPL company
- Sendle – a courier platform
- Basiq – a Financial data platform
- Play Travel – an online travel booking and payment platform and;
- Postpay – a BNPL company focused on the UAE
And today, just two days prior to its listing, Touch Ventures announced it completed another investment into Refundid which is a platform delivering instant cash returns to shoppers that return their goods.
It paid $1 million for a 10.4% stake and also provided a $1 million term loan facility.
Touch Ventures chairman Mike Jefferies and CEO Hein Vogel both said listing was a major milestone for the companies and promised the portfolio will grow over time.
“While this is an important milestone, the journey for Touch Ventures has just begun and we look forward to working with leading entrepreneurs in Australia and offshore who are building the next generation of companies which will drive the local and global economies,” Vogel said.
The listing of Touch Ventures comes two months after Afterpay (ASX:APT) unveiled a US$29 billion M&A deal with payments giant Square.
Afterpay’s service will be integrated into Square although the company will remain listed on the ASX.
Comparable companies
While there is no shortage of ETFs & LICs that invest in mid and large cap tech companies, there are only a handful of other ASX companies that are investment vehicles for start ups.
But one of the few other is Bailador (ASX:BTI) which has a portfolio of over $200 million.
It had a successful FY21 with a near doubling of its share price, a $27.6 million profit, a $52 million rise in its investments along with three full cash investments and one merger.
One other company was Blue Sky (ASX:BLA) but it was placed into receivership and its assets were snapped up by one of Wilson Asset Management’s LICs – WAM Alternative Assets (ASX:WAM).
While WAM retains some of Blue Sky’s private equity investments, it also has holdings in real estate, infrastructure and agriculture.
