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German Startups Group expects positive effects from Brexit for German tech startup scene

DGAP-News: German Startups Group Berlin GmbH & Co. KGaA / Key word(s):
Miscellaneous/Study results
German Startups Group expects positive effects from Brexit for German tech
startup scene

24.06.2016 / 10:12
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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+++ Press Release +++
for immediate publication

German Startups Group expects positive effects from Brexit for German tech
startup scene

Berlin, 24. June 2016 - German Startups Group, the second most active
venture capital provider in Germany in the time period since 2012 (CB
Insights, 2015), expects positive effects from Brexit for Germany, as the
site of tech startups, and consequently on their competitive position and
valuations. Christoph Gerlinger, CEO of German Startups Group: "The Brexit
is good news for the German startup scene. Only since 2015 was Berlin able
to surpass London, the previously dominant hub of Europe, in the number of
and overall volume of financial transactions from startups. This
development will now accelerate and the distance between Berlin vs. London
will increase. We expect a significant decrease in new incorporations in
London in favour of Berlin, as well as an influx of successful London
startups. This will be particularly true of the especially dynamic FinTech
sector." After conducting a consultation with the portfolio companies of
German Startups Group this morning, it is clear that they do not expect the
Brexit to have an immediate negative effect on their business, their
financial situations, or on their valuations". One of the core holdings of
German Startups Group, Auctionata, which according to its own records is
the largest global online auction house for art and luxury objects, even
expects a positive impact. The core holding MisterSpex expects a mutually
positive and negative effect on its bottom line. This could be true for all
other larger startups, for whom England is a target market and also the
location of competitors.

Press Contact
German Startups Group
Marcel Doeppes
Tel: [phone]
Mail: [e-mail]

German Startups Group - We Love Startups!

German Startups Group is a listed investment company based in Berlin that
focuses on young, fast-growing companies, so-called startups. The company
acquires majority and minority shareholdings mainly by providing venture
capital. The portfolio companies that German Startups Group holds also
stand to benefit from German Startups Group's expertise, experience and
network with respect to strategy development, financing rounds,
restructuring necessities, M&A transactions or selling the company,
including a possible IPO. According to its own assessment, German Startups
Group provides startups with so-called "smart money" by acquiring a
shareholding. Its focus is on companies whose products or business models
represent a disruptive innovation, allow for a high degree of scalability
to be expected, and in which it has a great deal of trust in the
entrepreneurial abilities of the founders to whom it feels that it obtains
early access to due to its close relationships to relevant players in the
startup scene. The geographical focus is on the German-speaking region.
Since it commenced with operations in 2012, German Startups Group has in
its opinion built up a diversified portfolio of investments in young
companies and become the second most active venture capital investor in
Germany since 2012 (CB Insights, Germany Venture Capital Overview). 25 of
the 44 minority stakeholdings in operationally active companies are of
particular significance to German Startups Group and together comprise 89%
of the total value of all 44 active minority stakeholdings. The ten core
holdings alone make up 58% of the value of all active minority
stakeholdings. According to German Startups Group, its investment portfolio
reflects a cross-section of extremely promising German startups of various
maturity stages ("Seed," "Early" and "Growth Stage," by German Startups
Group's own definition) and includes some of the most successful and best
known German startups.

More information is available on our website at www.german-startups.com.


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474123 24.06.2016