BayBG's annual financial statements report a slight increase in the investment portfolio to €308.1 million for the 2018/19 financial year. The previous year's figure was €307 million. However, the total of new investments decreased from €52.3 million to €44.7 million.
The focus of the new commitments of the BayBG (Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH) again focused on financing expansion projects in the 2018/19 financial year. A total of €24.4 million was invested in growth companies that, for example, expanded their capacities, launched new products, or entered foreign markets. Following these new investments, the total investment portfolio of this central division of BayBG amounts to €169.4 million.
With venture capital investments totaling €6.2 million, BayBG financed four new technology-oriented startups last year. The venture team is thus continuing its portfolio expansion of recent years and currently supports more than 30 startups.
To help medium-sized companies that have implemented a succession plan outside the family or have diversified their assets, BayBG invested €8.5 million in succession planning. New investments in companies undergoing turnaround and restructuring amounted to €3.1 million.
“Leading investment company for Bavarian medium-sized businesses”
“With new investments totaling 44.7 million euros, BayBG has once again lived up to its claim as the leading investment company for Bavarian SMEs in the past (pre-crisis) year,”
so Peter Pauli, Spokesperson for the Management Board of BayBG. Overall, BayBG's annual financial statements report a net profit of €5.2 million (previous year: €4.4 million). Its portfolio companies employ approximately 50,000 people and generated €11 billion in sales last year.
No forecast for 2020
Due to the coronavirus crisis, BayBG cannot provide a reliable forecast for the current 2019/20 fiscal year, Pauli continued. He noted:
“We will make our contribution to overcoming the crisis, which in the short term represents the central challenge for medium-sized companies and startups.”
BayBG Managing Director Karl-Christian Vogel added:
"In the first months of the current fiscal year, we have already completed 20 new investments. Economic research institutes predicted a difficult year for 2020 without any overall economic growth stimulus. With the COVID-19 crisis erupting with full force in mid-March, these predictions are now obsolete."
In the medium term, digitalization and climate change will return to the corporate spotlight, according to the investment company. BayBG considers itself well-equipped to support these financing opportunities with venture capital.
