FinLab is an incubator and builder of fintech companies based in Germany. It also has holdings in two relatively mature asset management businesses, Heliad and Patriarch, which gives it stable cash flows and a strong balance sheet. It currently has four fintech investments.
Investment summary
Deposit Solutions, FinLab’s largest fintech holding (which until recently made up nearly 30% of its NAV), has completed a new funding round with Deutsche Bank, which acquired a c 4.9% stake in the business. Although the deal volume is relatively small (and may be partially non-cash), we note that the transaction values Deposit Solutions at more than €1.0bn, which means it has now reached ‘unicorn’ status (ie a privately held company valued in excess of US$1.0bn) and has become one of the most highly valued fintech companies in Germany. We estimate that this translated into a significant write-up of FinLab’s c 7% stake of over €40m (c €7.6/share).
