Tender-Offer for Believe at €1.5 Billion: France's Biggest VC Exit in a Decade, Yielding a 36x Multiple for Ventech

Press Release, Paris, April 30, 2024

Ventech, an early-stage investor in Believe and a member of the Board throughout its investment period, has achieved a remarkable exit with a multiple of 36x for its fund III, the initiator of the operation - resulting in a total return of €175 million for the 12% stake held by its funds.

A consortium composed of Denis Ladegaillerie, Founder and CEO of Believe, EQT, and TCV, has acquired a block of 71.92% of Believe's capital, including 12% from Ventech, and will initiate a Public Tender Offer for the remaining shares of Believe at €15 per share, without a mandatory withdraw.

"We are proud to have supported Denis Ladegaillerie, the visionary founder of Believe, from the old days where Believe had €2 million in revenue all the way to today nearly a billion. At a time when the music industry had just gone through 15 years of crisis, we were convinced by Denis' vision of reconstructing the music industry thanks to digital revolution, with Believe offering disruptive distribution and development model for artists and labels in this new paradigm.” explains Alain Caffi, Founding Partner and now Senior Advisor at Ventech. He added, "We have faithfully accompanied Believe from its very early stage to exit as a responsible shareholder and active board member, which perfectly illustrates our investment and governance strategy 'from 0 to exit’."

As a Board member and shareholder, Ventech collaborated closely with Denis Ladegaillerie, TCV, and XAnge funds to engineer the optimal liquidity solution for its investors. Consequently, Ventech achieved total liquidity at a fully diluted valuation of €1.52 billion, resulting in an amount of €175 million for the 12.0% stake held by Ventech’s funds, and multiples of 36x for Ventech Capital III, the fund behind the initial deal.

Jean Bourcereau, Managing Partner of Ventech, explains: "We are grateful to our investors who understood what’s at stake and supported our strategy, particularly the raising of a dedicated fund to prepare this exit, Ventech Opportunity I, which was one of the first GP-Led approaches in Europe which allowed Ventech to remain involved in  Believe's governance until the exit."

Alain Caffi concludes: "We are pleased to see that Believe is now in the capable hands of TCV, one of our longstanding partners, and EQT, with whom we share the values cherished by Believe: Respect, Expertise, Fairness and Transparency. Denis Ladegaillerie and his passionate teams are now ready to embark on an even more ambitious new chapter of growth and continue to rock the world of music.”

About Ventech:

Ventech is a global early-stage venture capital firm with a strong digital focus. Founded in 1998, Ventech backs the most innovative and visionary tech entrepreneurs with a global ambition. With its dual structure platform, Ventech has dedicated funds for Europe (Paris, Munich, Berlin, Helsinki and Stockholm) and Asia (Shanghai and Hong Kong).

Since its inception, Ventech has raised over 900m€, and has realized over 220 investments, (including Vestiaire Collective, Prewave, Ogury, The Customization Group, Veo, Reveal, and Speexx) and over 90 exits (Believe (BLV.PA), Arteris (NSDQ: AIP), Withings (acquired by Nokia), and Fintecsystems (acquired by Tink)).

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Press contact:

Yakun Wang

Head of Marketing & Communications at Ventech

Yakun.wang@ventechvc.com

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