Australia's H2 Ventures taps public markets for fintech vehicle
Australia's H2 Ventures plans to raise up to A$55 million ($42 million) through an IPO for a dedicated unit that will make early and growth-stage investments in global financial technology start-ups.
The new entity, H20cean, will issue of up to 50 million shares at A$1.10 apiece. Proceeds will be reinvested on a matched basis alongside other investors in fintech companies that have completed an accelerator or incubator program. Series A investments are expected to range from A$5 million and above.
H2 has made 16 investments since November 2013, generating an IRR of 46.6% and a money multiple of 1.8x. These include New Zealand crowdfunding platform Equisite, Australian online mortgage broker HashChing, and automated investment service Stockspot. Equisite and Stockspot have also been backed by Tank Stream Ventures and Rocket Internet, respectively.
The firm, which spun out from listed entity AWI Ventures last year, claims to operate Australia's only dedicated fintech accelerator and plans to get more than 100 start-ups off the ground over the next three years. Investec acquired a stake in the firm earlier this year in deal reportedly worth several million dollars.
First State Super formed a partnership with H2 last year that will receive a portion of the A$250 million that the superannuation fund wants to deploy in technology innovation.
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