In 2007, 15 of the 21 approved investments materialised, to the value of 9.3 million euros.<sl>Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco has disinvested in 16 projects to the value of 8.4 million euros, which has generated capital gains of 1.7 million euros.<sl>Moreover, through Seed Gipuzkoa, set up on a 50-50 basis with the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, investment worth 1.5 million euros has been approved in 5 companies, materialising in 2 of them in 2007.<sl>Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco manages and/or administers funds and companies worth 173 million euros, of which it has 96 million invested in 73 companies.
2007 was a good year for Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco (a venture capital company), in terms of both the number of investments approved and the amount invested. It ended with the approval of holdings in 21 companies worth approximately 15.7 million euros. This means that the company has invested in 5 more companies than in 2006 and that the total investments have increased by almost 4 million euros compared to the figure for the previous year.
Of the 21 investments approved, a total of 15 materialised during 2007 to the value of 9.3 million euros, and the rest will materialise during the first half of this year. Disinvestment in 2007, an important aspect for the company, as it enables it to reinvest the capital to boost and consolidate other business initiatives, totalled 8.4 million euros, which generated capital gains to the value of 1.7 million euros.
Moreover, in 2007 Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa set up Seed Gipuzkoa, a company which approved investment in five projects during the year worth a total of 1.5 million euros. Of these, two materialised in 2007, to the value of 758,000 euros.
Investments materialised in 2007
The main investments materialised in 2007 were as follows:
- Cryobest International. Cryogenisation of materials. Investment: 150,000 euros.
- Dolarea Hotela. Restoration of a farm house in Beasain to turn it into a hotel and restaurant. Investment: 400,000 euros.
- Estrategix. Application of Corporate Portals to business processes. Investment: 90.000 euros.
- Iniciativa Fik. Development of technologies to help improve the quality of life of elderly and handicapped people. Investment: 325,000 euros in 2007 (the total amount approved is 2.5 million euros).
- Ramón Vizcaíno Group: Industrial refrigeration technology. Investment in 2007: 3,000,000 euros (2 investments through two funds), and, in the first quarter of 2008, an increase in capital of 1.5 million euros.
- Icim Lab: Laboratory and test certification services. Investment: 600,000 euros.
- Metalúrgica Santa Engracia (Metagra). Manufacture of cold formed nuts and bolts. Investment: 2,240,000 euros.
- Seed Gipuzkoa: A venture capital company set up on a 50-50 basis by Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, in order to take a shareholding in new technology-based and/or innovative companies. Investment: 1,800,000 euros.
- Sellex: Design, assembly and marketing of top design furniture, focusing on the modern home and group market. Investment: 320,000 euros
- Transcalor: Heat exchangers for boilers. Investment in 2007: 100,000 euros, and, in the first quarter of 2008, another 300,000 euros.
The rest of the investments to complete the 15 materialised were carried out in the following companies: Akropost Gipuzkoa, Adebiotec, Fik Advanlife and Hunolt. It is envisaged that the participation in the rest of the projects approved will materialise in the first half of 2007.
Seed Gipuzkoa
Gestión de Capital Riesgo and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa set up in 2007, on a 50-50 basis, the Seed Gipuzkoa company, the aim of which is to take holdings in new technology-based and/or innovative companies. Seed Gipuzkoa has approved taking a holding in five companies, of which two materialised in 2007, namely in Metallied Powder Solutions (403,000 euros) and in Garraiotech (355,000 euros), with two more early in 2008 (Saludnova, to the value of 200,000 euros, and Ikerchem, to the value of 250,000 euros).
The company
Gestión Capital Riesgo del País Vasco manages or administers funds and companies worth 173 million euros, of which it has 96 million invested in 73 companies, including Betapack, Guascor Fotón, Kaiku Corporación, Wallair Engine Components, etc.
The company was set up in 1985 by the Basque Government, through the Sociedad para la Promoción Industrial (SPRI) (a business development agency), and its aim is to attract financial resources from public and private bodies to manage and administer them through funds and companies, to enable them to be invested subsequently in business projects by taking a minority, temporary holding.
This helps to improve the competitiveness of the organisations by boosting existing businesses or promoting new ones, with injections of capital into profitable projects, looking to the future.
Its shareholding is as follows: SPRI 70%; BBK 10%; Kutxa 7%; Caja Vital: 3%; MCC Inversiones SPE, S. Coop: 7%; Viana, SPE 3%.
