Europe's first crowdfunding exit via IPO
- Heeros Oyj raises €3.4m with its IPO on the Invesdor crowdfunding platform
- Becomes the first European company to go public after raising equity crowdfunding from retail investors
- Shares start trading today on the Nasdaq First North Helsinki
Heeros Oyj is the first crowdfunding-backed company to go public in Europe. The company raised €3.4m from more than 700 investors with its IPO on the Invesdor crowdfunding platform during 19 October–4 November. Trading with Heeros shares begins today, 10 November, on the Nasdaq First North Helsinki.
In late 2015 Heeros raised a €660,000 equity crowdfunding round on Invesdor, a cross-border platform that also hosted the IPO. The crowdfunding round brought Heeros close to 200 new shareholders, most of them retail investors. Heeros is the first European company to go public after raising equity crowdfunding from retail investors, making it Europe's first crowdfunding exit via IPO.
Heeros’s shares were priced at €3.10 in the IPO, up €0.40 from the 2015 crowdfunding campaign. The pricing of the IPO valued the company at approximately €10.5 million.
“I am happy about the result of the IPO and about the interest shown towards Heeros. Both retail and institutional investors have understood our growth potential in the digitizing market of financial management software. I want to thank all our investors for their trust,” commented Heeros CEO Matti Lattu in the company’s press release on Tuesday.
Heeros is also the first exit for investors on Invesdor’s crowdfunding platform.
“Equity crowdfunding needs to show that it can generate exits for investors; this is the only way the industry can sustain its growth. While growth companies are generally long term investments, having the possibility to exit is crucial for investors’ confidence in the system,” says Invesdor CEO Lasse Mäkelä.
In addition to providing exits by IPOs, crowdfunding platforms are moving closer to the public markets by providing technology for public equity issues.
“Crowdfunding platforms can be convenient tools for IPOs due to their efficiency in reaching retail investors and processing share subscriptions. If I was planning an IPO, I would consider using crowdfunding platforms as cost-efficient distribution channels,” Mäkelä says.
Contact:
Mikko Savolainen, communications manager, Invesdor Ltd.
mikko.savolainen@invesdor.com, +358 40 747 5205
Invesdor in brief:
Invesdor operates an online investment platform that connects ambitious European growth companies with investors worldwide. Invesdor has helped raise more than 21 million euros and hosted more than 60 successful equity crowdfunding campaigns.
A financial technology (fintech) company founded in Finland in 2012, Invesdor is the Nordic market leader in equity crowdfunding measured in invested capital and revenue in 2015. Invesdor's clients include private and publicly traded companies from Finland, the UK, Norway and Denmark as well as investors from more than 50 countries. Invesdor has offices in London and Helsinki.